Call of the Dragon
by TheNotSoNiceLibrarian
Summary: She thought that life would be simple once she came back. Normal. But what is normal to a girl who spent the last 7 years hunting for a sacred jewel in feudal Japan teamed up with a half-demon, fighting demons? And who is the half dead demon she finds in the forest beyond the shrine. And is there some sort of rule stating that all demons have to be lofty, mightier than thou jerks?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own either InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did I'd probably have a lot more money. So, don't bother sueing; all you would get would be some blood thirty dust bunnies and a couple of fuzzy floor sharks.

This is my first attempt at a IYxYYH crossover. I hope ya'll enjoy it. Please tell me what you think. I'm looking for constructive critisim; flames will be laughed at, posted on my FB page, made fun of, laughed at some more...and discarded. I have no idea how long this story will be; I was in the middle of working on something else when this started demanding to be written. So do not be surprised if it fizzles out after a couple of chapters. I'm hoping to keep it reasonably short... maybe a 2 or 3 shot. In the meantime; enjoy!

Call of the Dragon

A IYxYYH Crossover

Hiei leap away from the demon as it slashed at him with long serrated claws. Beside him Kwabara and Karama attacked the demon even as Yusuke fired his spirit gun. The demon collapsed to the ground with a grunt of pain. This was supposed to be a simple find and eliminate mission. A low level demon had escaped through the barrier from the Makai; the Team was sent to catch the rogue creature and either return it to the Makai or destroy it. Located out in the forest, miles from civilization; they had assumed that the demon had simply wandered through a weak spot in the barrier. Finding the demon had been easy; however, once found the demon proved difficult. Despite a direct hit from the Spirit Gun; the towering mound of the rock that was the demon lumbered to its feet and roared its fury. Koenma had conveniently forgotten to mention that the 'rogue' demon was one of the massive, lumbering Rock Trolls that frequently inhabit the harsh rugged mountain terrain of the Makai. The things stood nearly two to three stories high and were made of solid granite. The creatures were living tanks; lacking in spiritual or demon power, they made up for it with devastating physical attacks and near impenetrable armor . Hiei glared at the creature...how do you kill something made of solid rock? As he shifted his stance, intending to see how effective his Mortal Flame would be against the Troll; something cold and wet wrapped around his ankle. Before he could react his feet were yanked out from under him. Kwabara, the only witness to the silent attack, watched in shock as Hiei was suddenly jerked backward toward the swollen river a few yards behind him.

"Hiei!" He yelled rushing to help the shorter demon. However his way was blocked by the giant walking rock as it swung one of its car-sized fists; knocking the human detective across the clearing.

"Dammit!" He swore as he scrambled to his feet, ignoring the aches and pains. He lunged forward, again even as he watched his teammate disappear into the dark rushing water. "Hiei!"

The water swirled around Hiei sucking him further into the blackness. He slashed at the creature clinging to his ankle; his speed drastically reduced in the frigid water. Still, the blade made contact and the tentacle disappeared with an ear splitting shriek. Twin silver flames flickered to life in front of him as the water demon uncurled from the bottom of the river bed. In the murky depths, Hiei could barely make out the demons long serpentine form. It wasn't a strong demon; however... in his situation, the demon didn't need to be strong. It simply had to prevent him from reaching the surface. Being primarily a fire demon, Hiei's power was leeched away by his elemental opposite-water. The meager ice power he inherited from his koorime mother prevented him from dying from such a long exposure to said element. Still, with each passing heartbeat he could feel himself weakening. The demon attacked, slashing at him with curved talons. Its long serpentine tail whipped through the murky water; the serrated spines raking across his ribs. Hiei bared his fangs in a silent hiss as the sandy bottom whirled with each movement. He needed to get to the surface before he was too weak to swim. Hiei launched himself upward, ignoring the scaled demon in favor of air; his head barely broke the water surface, barely sucked in a breath of cool winter air before he was dragged back under. The slimy snake like body of the water demon wrapped around his smaller one; poisonous spines sank into skin for better grip even as the demon sank its fangs into his shoulder. He couldn't breath... acid seemed to move through his body with each beat of his heart. He was growing cold...everything dimming. He struggled... no way would he die here... under water... alone. Desperate, he did the only thing he could think of... he summoned the dragon.

Sensing a weakness in its master the Dragon of the Darkness Flame needed little prodding to rip free of the biddings that contained it. Water held no effect on the hell dragon; roaring its fury the black dragon exploded from Hiei's arm instantly consuming the unfortunate clinging water demon. Hiei had a moment of sweet satisfaction as he heard the demons dying shriek of pain...then nothing...

Kagome Higurashi stumbled as a massive explosion rocked the shrine. _What the hell was that?!_ She thought, looking off toward the direction of the explosion. It came from the forest beyond the shrine. She could feel a surge of demonic energy... such cold malicious power. Chills crept up her spine. She was use to feeling demonic energy; spending close to seven years hunting and collecting jewel shards in the past had honed her ability to sense demons. She had occasionally felt the brush of demonic energy since returning to her present time; however, never had she felt something like this. It was cold, dark and malicious… adrenaline pumped through her veins. What the hell had caused such energy? Last time she had felt anything like it, it had been five hundred years in the past when she encountered Naraku's miasma. Yet, while the miasma had a malicious, tainted, sick feeling… this energy was different. No less terrifying; but different. It felt both natural…and not. Whatever it was, wasn't tainted… rather it was a natural coldness… like seeing a Mamushi (1) curled in her path, or perhaps seeing one of the enormous grey sharks that called the deep pacific waters off of the coast home. Powerful, cold, deadly, terrifying…

Everything that told her to run inside her house and hide…. Yet, at the same time it called to her; that dark energy beckoned to her...almost as if it was in…pain? Kagome found her feet moving even before she finished the thought. One way or another, she needed to find out what that energy was. Trees blurred by as she ran through the darkened woods. Above, the full moon glowed with its silvery yellow brilliance casting everything in light and shadow. Years of walking and hiking throughout Japan's rural country side had left Kagome fit and with incredible endurance; less than ten minutes later, Kagome slide to a stop by the river bank... or what use to be the river bank. Now there was a massive smoking crater; a huge beast composed of black flames barreled around the wood bellowing its rage. Trees burned and water spit and steamed; it was like a scene from an apocalyptic era. Or Hell... take your pick.

There in the center of the crater lay a still dark figure. Steam wafted from the figures clothes and the puddle he lay in bubbled with heat. Carefully, Kagome approached. The figure, a man from the looks of it, lay face down; his face partially submerged in the body sized puddle. Kagome could barely sense a flicker of life within the form, a spark of something… demonic? It would certainly explain the black flaming dragon… Speaking of...She kept one eye on the monstrous beast overhead while she knelt beside the figure-demon, rolling him over onto his back and pulling him from the bubbling water. She pulled the heavy wet cloak from around the demons body; dimly noting the chiseled physique clearly visible in the glowing moon light. Kagome leaned her head down; was he even breathing? She placed a hand on his chest… she neither felt a rise in his chest nor breath on her face.

"Damn…" she swore, tilting the demon's head back. Would CPR work on a demon? With a silent prayer, Kagome leaned down, used one hand to pinch his nose and pressed her lips against his, giving him the breath of life. She then alternated, placing her hands on his chest and pressing down counting each compression. When she reached thirty, she alternated again, giving him a breath, then back to compressions.

"C'mon dammit," she swore at the demon, she was loath to see any life end; even that of a demon with questionable moral standing. Having conjured something as massive and destructive as the dragon – which now seemed to be watching her with soulless glaring eyes- the question of whether this demon was a 'good demon' or 'bad demon' was defiantly up for debate. She hoped that she wasn't attempting to revive this demon, only to have him rip her to shreds as a 'thank you'.

Still, Kagome tried. She kept alternating between breaths and compressions; cursing the demon in between. Kagome had lost too many people in her life; she couldn't bear to lose another, even if it was the life of a stranger. After what seemed like ages, and just as she was beginning to lose hope; the body below her convulsed; spewing water from his lungs. Startled, Kagome rolled him onto his side as he purged the water from his lungs.

Hiei took in a ragged breath of cool winter air; coughing as his lungs siezed and expelled the last remnants of foul river water. "Easy there," a soft, feminine voice whispered. It was soothing, yet unfamiliar. Who?

Warm hands slide along his shoulder; lifting him to a sitting position; then rubbed his back in a circular motion as he was struck by another coughing fit. He glanced at the woman; who the hell was she? Long black hair fell down her back in waves and glowed silver in the moonlight. A young heart shaped face looked at him; concern evident in her dark liquid eyes. Confused, he looked around… what the hell had happened? He was sitting on the ground; covered in mud and sand; water hissed and steamed from various puddles while the trees were burnt and smoking. What the hell had happened?

"Um…" the girl said softly, drawing Hiei's attention, "Is he yours?"

Hiei followed the line of her arm to see the enormous figure of his black dragon hovering in the air; watching them; content that his master was no longer in mortal danger, the dragon shot forward to wrap around his arm. The dragon? How? In a rush the nights events came back to him; the call from Koenma, the fight, the water demon, the river, and the crushing blackness… He looked around suddenly sensing demonic energy nearby.

"Damn…" he growled, even as he struggled to his feet. He was beyond weak and in desperate need of hibernation.

"Wait, you need to rest a minute!" the girl protested. He glared at her; stupid human wench…

"Get away from me, onna," he growled; he reached for his blade, only to find the sword missing from its place at his side. He growled in annoyance.

Kagome glared at the dark haired demon; 'onna' indeed. Honestly what was she expecting from a demon? Manners? A Thank-you? She gave an unlady-like snort at the thought. As if. It must be some demon rule that all demons had to be lofty, mightier than thou, pig headed, jack-asses. She stood and attempted to brush the mud from her jeans; curious despite herself… what in the world had gotten the demon so worked up? He looked dead on his feet… which, she supposed was an improvement since a few moments before he was dead on the ground… Still, even InuYasha had taken a moment to gather his strength after a near death experience. Yet this demon was, dare she say… anxious? His gaze darted around the immediate area looking for something… not finding it he swore under his breath.

Puzzled by his strange behavior; Kagome almost missed the demonic energies approaching from what remained of the river… Kagome's head snapped around as several long snake-like forms slithered onto the muddy shore. Muddy green scales covered the creature's bodies like slimy fish scales, long spines jutted from their back, and each finger was tipped in deadly talons. There were low ranking demons from the feel of them; still, there were a good number of them. Kagome counted six total. Six against her and a weak, barely hanging in there demon….

_Fuck my life,_ Kagome swore mentally, suddenly wishing she had her bow. How stupid was it to go rushing off toward a demonic energy without her bloody weapon?! InuYasha would be livid. Stupid, stupid, stupid….

The pack of serpentine like demons slid forward, quickly surrounding them. Hiei glared at the women who watched the water demons, not with fear but wariness.

"Stupid onna," he growled, "Should have left when I told you too"

"Yea" she agreed, "Beginnin' to think that myself." She gave him a side long glance; "Don't suppose that dragon of yours wants to comeback out and play, hm?"

"Hn"

"Didn't think so" Kagome muttered.

The larger of the demons slide forward and hissed, displaying long slender snake-like fangs. It flicked its tail towards them; Hiei saw the spike come sailing toward him. He moved, feet sliding in the muck. To slow! Between his weakness and the river muck the speed he so relied on was none existent. He barely dodged enough to the side to prevent the spike from piercing his heart. Instead the undoubtedly poisoned blade sank into his shoulder; the force of it knocking him off his feet and to the ground. The water demons howled, driven to a frenzy from the scent if blood and weakness. Hiei prepared himself; ready to fight tooth and claw to the bitter end. Suddenly a warm human body hit him from the side.

"Get down!" The woman yelled, as she covered his body with her own.

A heartbeat later there was what felt like a mini explosion around them and the brush of holy power along his skin. Then silence… the only noises were their breathing, the sound of water and the crackle of still burning lumber. Kagome stood offering her hand to the injured demon. Proud and stubborn to the end, the demon ignored her offer and stumbled to his feet yanking the spine from his shoulder. Hiei starred at the smoking remains of the water demon tribe in awe... Only one of the tribe remained the largest...the leader; and it was obvious he was dying. Over half of his body had been burned and dissolved. The demon hissed and snarled at them as the girl knelt next to the dying demon. She sighed.

"Poor thing" she said softly" You shouldn't have attacked me. Find peace…" then she gently touched the creatures head. Hiei watched as a soft blue light encompassed the demon turning it to purified ash.

Hiei recognized the power; he hadn't felt it in centuries. A miko? The ancient enemies of demons were thought to have been extinct. When the worlds were divided; there was no need for demon slayers of that magnitude; and for lack of use, the powers had disappeared, becoming a dormant recessive trait in their decedents. Hiei regarded her with wariness and contempt; but also puzzlement. Surely she recognized him for a demon; yet, she had saved him… twice. Why? His mind felt sluggish and slow; he knew he was about to collapse. He could feel the water demons poison coursing through his body like acid. Once out of the water and dry; his fire demon energy would burn the acid from his blood... but he needed a safe place to recuperate and heal.

Kagome regarded the demon before her, now that they were both standing she could see that he was actually rather small. She was taller than him at her meager five feet. Blood covered his shoulder, torso and side. She took a step towards him; unsure how to progress with this strange injured demon. If it was InuYasha she wouldn't worry too much about it; he would let her look at his wounds or she would 'Sit' him into submission so she could do so. Though, despite the severity of his wounds; InuYasha rarely needed treatment. Demons were remarkably resilient, after all,… however, this demons energy was flickering. He was severely hurt; and despite resuscitating him, he still wasn't completely out of the woods yet.

"You're hurt;" she said, it was a statement rather than a question.

"Hn…" he said, neither acknowledging nor denying her claim. Even a fool could see his was injured. He glanced around, trying to determine the safest place to go to hibernate. Later he would come back to investigate the mystery of this miko; but not now... Already dark spots danced before his eyes. He could feel the darkness creeping forward at the edges of his vision. He took a step away, intent on getting as far into the forest as possibly before he collapsed. However, his body had other plans. As he took another step, his knee buckled. With no small amount of horror he realized he was going to pass out right in front of this demon slaying miko. He had one lingering thought as the darkness swallowed him and he collapsed to the muddy ground.

_What gods would condone such irony_?

(1) Mamushi: This species and the Okinawan habu are the most venomous snakes in Japan.[5] Every year, 2000–3000 people in Japan are bitten by mamushi. Bite victims typically require one week of treatment in hospital. Severe bites require intensive care, and approximately 10 victims die annually. - wiki/Mamushi

*peeks from around desk* Sooo...what do you think? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own either InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did I'd probably have a lot more money. So, don't bother sueing; all you would get would be some blood thirty dust bunnies and a couple of fuzzy floor sharks.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm so glad that ya'll are enjoying this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.

Call of the Dragon

Chapter 2:

Kagome sighed as the stubborn demon; much like InuYasha had done on many occasions, collapsed before acknowledging that he needed help. Now what was she going to do? Pinching the bridge of her nose she grabbed the demon's cloak and walked over to him. He had once again landed face down; his blood turning the mud a sick reddish color. She needed something to staunch the bleeding. She looked around; the only thing she had was the demon's own cloak; but it was beyond disgusting. It was covered in mud and some sort of slim. No, she'd have to find something else to slow the bleeding. With quick steps she hurried into the unburned portion of the forest. While it was technically winter; the season had been unnaturally mild and warm. Which, oddly enough worked in her favor today; she barely scoured woods around the clearing and was able to find a large quantity of spider webs. The additional plus; the cold snap they were having this week, had chased all the actual spiders away to find shelter! Which was great, since she hated spiders; she hadn't been fond of them before… but after her trip down the well and encountering the spider hanyou Nark…. She just couldn't STAND spiders anymore. However, on the same vein… that same cold snap made the air frigid, especially against her wet clothing. She hurried back toward the demon, kneeling beside him; she ripped the ball of webs apart and stuffed the cool silky fibers into the demons wounds. Already she could tell that whatever weapon the snake-like water demons had used had been poisoned; the wounds were already red and swollen with dark angry red lines fanning across his skin. She needed to get him back to the shrine; she still had some of the herbs Kaede had given her that they used to treat poison. Between Kilala and Miroku they had needed to keep a healthy supply of the plant. Kagome had made sure to get a nice clipping of that and several other hard to find medical herbs to bring back with her so she could start her own plants here in the modern era.

Now that the bleeding had been slowed a bit; enough to hopefully get him back to the shrine. The trick now became… how exactly was she going to get him back to the shrine? He was small enough that she might be able to carry him. He couldn't weight much more than she did; and her backpack weighed about that much when she took it to the feudal era. It took some work, and some maneuvering; all of which she was very thankful that he was unconscious and blissfully unaware of the situation. Somehow she doubted his manly demonic ego would be able to survive a blow like finding out a woman had to man handle him then carry him three miles up hill…. Still, she somehow managed to get him centered on her back; wrapping his arms around her shoulders-tying them with the cord from her hoodie to keep them in place. Then holding his thighs and hefting him as high as she could onto her back; Kagome began the long treck home. As she walked she had to snicker; undoubtedly her mother would call tonight, and ask her how her day went and what she did. Imagine her mother's surprise if she told her the truth?

_Oh hi mom, yea I had a good day. You wouldn't believe what happened! Yea there was this explosion down behind the shrine, by the river… and when I went down to investigate… yes mother I went to look…. There was this massive flying dragon made up of black flames. It had totally scorched the entire area. And oh, there was this demon down there…. Yea a demon… yea I know you thought there weren't any in this era, truth is mom I've sensed them a few times, just never went to find them…. Anyway, this demon I found wasn't breathing so I gave him CPR… yea… apparently it works on demons as well as humans….who knew, right? After he woke up we were attacked by a bunch of really slimy snake-like demons; really nasty smelly things…. Oh its ok mom, I'm fine. I managed to purify them. Then the demon collapsed again; so I carried him home-like I use to do to Souta when he fell asleep at the movies… you know on my back. Piggy-back style. Oh where is he now? Well, he's still unconscious so he's sleeping in the guest room….._

Oh yea, her mother would just LOOOOOVE that. The woman had been patient and understanding with the situation involving InuYasha. However, Kagome somehow doubted that her mother would as understanding if she found out that her daughter had brought home a strange demon that she knew absolutely nothing about. Yea, that would go over like a ton of bricks. Best to keep that little tidbit of information away from mummy-dearest.

Good thing she was on vacation in America with Grandpa and Souta; visiting her sister for the month. Made things so much easier. Kagome would have loved to take the vacation along with her family; but there was just no way around it with exams this week. Her mother had offered to fly her out after exams so that they could spend Christmas together; but Kagome had declined. She was actually looking forward to the quiet time. It gave her plenty of time to study, meditate and practice. It had been so long since she had been truly on her own; in the past she had been with InuYasha, rarely able to snatch a few minutes of alone time before the annoying hanyou hunted her down. She had appreciated his concern and protectiveness; but it still felt stifling on occasion. Then when she got home her Mom, brother and grandfather were always around, at school there were the other students, It was nearly impossible to find a nice quiet area without people so she could sit and meditate without any interruptions. The only quiet alone time she had been able to catch was in the middle of the night; when everyone was asleep… she would sneak out to sit in the branches of the God Tree and just enjoy the quiet solitude and reflect.

By the time she reached the house; she was exhausted and her legs burned from the strain. Half way up the hill; it had started to pour. She was cold, wet, and tired. All she wanted to do was take a nice long hot bubble bath and go to bed. On the plus side the rain washed the majority of the mud off of them. Kagome took the still unconscious demon into the guess room in the back corner of the house. She laid him on the bed as gently as she could, then went and gathered the medical supplies she needed, the herbs, and rummaged around in Souta's dresser until she found a pair of sweats.

The rain may have washed away a lot of the mud, but nowhere near all of it. Plus the demons pants were in tatters; she'd have to cut them off of him as is. She was not looking forward to that...really… Honest.

It took over an hour to properly clean and bandage and put clean pants on the demon. She hoped the salve she had for poison would work on him. She'd never really tried it on anyone but Miroku and Kilala before. Once clean and bandaged, Kagome covered him and made sure to turn the heater on in that room; his skin was oddly cool to the touch. Frowning at that, Kagome left to take her own shower and crawled into bed.

The next morning Kagome found her guest racked with chills. Was that normal for demons suffering from poisoning? Was there another underlying problem? Kagome spent most of the morning working with her guest, allowing her energy to ease his pain and attempt to cleanse the poison from his body. Still, he did not wake up nor did the chill dissipate.

Kagome swore, of all the times she longed for the ability to speak to her feudal era friends. Surely one of them would know if this was normal... A sudden feeling of hopelessness gripped her. She'd never seen a demon become sick... was that even possible? Her knowledge of demon physiology was so limited. Unsure what else to do-could do- Kagome walked outside. Perhaps the Tree of Ages would choose to enlighten her with some of its knowledge...

Yusuke, Kurama and Kwabara followed the river when Hiei didn't reappear by the next morning. While the fire apparition was renown for disappearing without telling people, he wouldn't have disappeared in the middle of the hunt. Even if he had known they had it handled.

"Hiei is more than capable of taking care of himself" Yusuke said for the hundredth time. Neither Kurama nor Kwabara replied. Kurama would be the first to assure him of Hiei's abilities. Yet even he had limits and surrounded by so much water... it made Kurama uneasy. Something was wrong. They lapsed into silence as they followed the river. Several miles down they came upon a barren area.

"Shiiit..." Yusuke breathed, "It looks like a bomb went off here".

Kurama studied the scene before him. The trees were burnt, broken and scorched. Even the muddy river bottom was scorched. All around was the faded sense of dark malicious energy.

"You guys feel that?" Kwabara asked. "It feels like the Dragon... faint now. But it was here..."

Kurama nodded; "If that's true then Hiei isn't far off. Summoning the Dragon always forces him into hibernation."

"Hell..." Yusuke swore, bending to pick something from the mud.

"What is it Urameshi?" Kwabara asked. Yusuke looked at them, worry in his dark eyes. "Hiei's sword..."

There was silence... each knew that Hiei wouldn't relinquish his sword unless it was pulled from his cold dead lifeless fingers.

"We don't know anything for certain... he could have just dropped it..." Kwabara said with forced confidence.

"Right..."Yusuke agreed; it was easier to believe the annoying little punk had dropped his sword then…the alternatives.

"Well the forest is massive," He said, "How do we find one injured demon; especially one like Hiei who likely found a nice cozy hidey hole to hibernate in?"

Kurama moved past the tree line and back into the undamaged forest. He knelt; the wet leaves covering the ground cushioned his knees, even as they soaked his pants. Kurama allowed his energy to flow out into the forest. Asking it, seeking answers from the only witnesses to the battle that took place... however plants saw thing much differently than humans and the language of trees was not something to be rushed.

The trees spoke of fire and darkness, of shaking earth, of blood and death. It spoke of a pure one...

Pure one?

_One whose energy seeped into the ground; _

_Guarded by the ancient one..._

_ Bound together thru ages... _

Where is this pure one? This ancient one? He asked, the trees rustled their leaves in response;

_Dwell on high..._the trees sighed, _protectors. Guardians of the tainted stone..._

Yusuke watched impatiently as Kurama worked his magic. Finally the fox avatar raised his head.

"Well..?" he demanded, unable to keep the impatience from his voice.

"They speak of fire and the earth shaking; a battle perhaps?" Kurama shook his head in puzzlement, "Then they mention the arrival of a pure one. I don't understand that. Something about a guardian and ancient one bound thru the ages...a protector." The red-haired avatar frowned, "Doesn't really make sense."

"No mention of Hiei then?"

"Not specifically...perhaps if we could find this pure one that arrived after the battle?" Kurama replied, unfazed by Yusuke's impatience.

"Pure? You mean like a virgin?" Yusuke asked, rubbing that back of his head in puzzlement.

Kurama shrugged. "I don't know, Yusuke..."

"Great, that's just great." Yusuke growled, "Let's just go ask all the women in the surrounding area if they're virgins! I'm sure that will give us great results!"

"Or...we could go up there," Kwabara said, pointing up the hill. Kurama and Yusuke looked at him.

"Any particular reason why, Kwabara?" Kurama asked; the larger man shrugged.

"The energy up there is beautiful," Kwabara replied, "I can feel it from here. It's like a beacon... it's… safe there..."

Kurama and Yusuke shared a look. Kwabara could be a flake but he was the most spiritually aware person in their group.

"It's worth a shot..." Yusuke said, wrapping Hiei's sword in his jacket as they made their way up the hill. The closer they got to the top a sense of peace and comfort settled over them. It was like being wrapped in a loving embrace. Yusuke swallowed hard trying to dislodge the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. He hadn't even met these so called guardians but already he felt welcomed. He shook his head... he couldn't allow himself to fall into a false sense of security. Who knows the actual reception they would receive. In his whole life no one but Keiko had ever been happy to see him.

Kagome felt the presence of her latest guests long before they arrived. She rose from her seat at the base of the Tree of Ages and gathered her weapon. She didn't know the purpose of the visit...but she knew that at least two of the three visitors were demons. She drew the arrow back and let fly; it thunked into the tree truck next to a dark haired young man's head.

"Hold" she called. The trio froze, all falling easily into fighting stances.

"I knew this place was false advertising." The dark haired man snarled, glaring at her.

"State your purpose here." She said drawing another arrow from her quiver.

"Peace priestess..." A red headed you man said stepping forward; for a brief flash an image of a silvered haired kistune over lapped that of the red haired green eyed man.

"Were searching for our friend; he didn't return last night... perhaps you've seen him?" Kurama asked, watching the young woman in front of him warily. The arrow she had shot at Yusuke had been charged with potent holy energy. Amazing, considering that he had believed humans with holy power had become extinct. "He has dark hair with a white burst in the front, black clothing and a bandage on his arm?"

Kagome regarded the three... could they honestly be her injured guest's friends?

"Perhaps..." She said, cautiously, "how do I know you are not here to finish what the others started?"

"Shorty's here!" The tallest of the three said "I can feel his energy from here..." Suddenly the man's face paled. "Oh shiiiit! Not good! Take cover!"

The man grabbed his friends and pulled them back into the forest; just in time for the back side of the house to explode as a great black dragon rose into the air.

"Lady hide!"

Kagome glared at the dragon and the destruction of her house. What the bloody hell was she going to tell her mother?!

"Damn bloody demons!" She snapped, "Makes life so bloody difficult! Gah! All I wanted was some peace and quiet. But no... Heaven forbid I get peace and quiet! Instead I get a sick demon and his TEMPERAMENTAL DRAGON!" Kagome stormed over to the massive beast as it withed in the air above her house.

"Dragon!" She yelled, power flaring, forcing the destructive beast to face her. She glared back into its soulless eyes too angry to feel fear. "Don't you even think about destroying any more of my house! You wanna run amok and create havoc then go back to the clearing! "She flung her arm out, pointing back down the hill. The great fiery black head lowered to regard the furious priestess. Yusuke and his team stared as the petite woman stood nose to nose with the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, unafraid.

"I know you're upset and worried," she said allowing her power to fill the area with warmth and comfort; "but destroying my shrine will not help your partner. You use valuable energy he needs! Go hunt, replenish your strength. He'll need it to heal."

With a gentle push the black dragon rose into the air and disappeared in a streak of black flames down the hill. Kagome pushed a strand of hair back from her forehead.

"You said you were friends of his?" She asked. Yusuke nodded starring at the smoldering trees where the dragon disappeared.

"Yea..."

"Good. Then follow me." She said leading the across the shrine "Your friend is very ill."

The demons froze at her words. Kwabara blinked;

"Sick? Is that even possible, Kurama?"

The red head shook his head, "It's very rare..."

The woman smiled back at them, dark chocolate eyes taking note of the hopeful expressions; begging her to be wrong.

"Perhaps it is something else;" she said, "I've had very little experience healing demons." Then under her breath she muttered, "Especially ones not of the canine variety".

Both Yusuke and Kurama glanced at her, their demonic hearing easily catching the whispered word. As tempting as it was to ask her about it; curiosity would have to be put on hold; she was already moving forward, deeper into the house. It was fairly easy to figure out which door lead to Hiei's room; smoke billowed from the shattered door.

Kagome glared at the door for a moment before moving into the wreckage of the guest room.

"Damn destructive dragon," she muttered darkly. She knelt beside the ill demon brushing her hand across his forehead; smoothing the wrinkles from his face as he grimaced in pain. His jaw clenched hard enough his fangs pierced his lip. Absently Kagome wiped the blood as it slide down his cheek. His claws fisted in the sheets; shredding them and the mattress beneath. He dragged in shallow ragged breathes; each breath rattling in his lungs. His skin was clammy to the touch alternating from burning hot to icy cold.

"Shhh..." Kagome whispered, allowing her power to blanket him, easing his pain. "It's ok... "She glanced towards her guest's three friends; "I've done what I could. But my ability is limited. All I can really do is help sooth him and ease his pain."

Yusuke was amazed at the tenderness this woman showed toward Hiei; even more amazed when the little human hating fire demon actually calmed under her administrations. Kurama knelt by his friend concern knitting his brows. Gently he lifted the bandage on one shoulder to look at the injury; a raw angry ragged wound oozed a foul smelling black slime... poison. Pulling back he examined the green paste she had been putting on the wounds.

"It's a drawing salve," she said, "it's supposed to help draw the poison from the wound."

Kurama nodded, instantly recognizing the herbs used, "and it's working quite well in that regard." He told her, still... Hiei shouldn't be as sick as he was. His fire demon heritage should have burned the poison from his blood overnight.

"Yusuke, call Boton... "Kurama ordered, "we need Yukina."

Kagome watched exotic colored man; "Yukina?" she asked. He nodded.

"She is our healer of sorts; "he explained. "Would it be possible to move him to another room? Hiei is a fire demon; the cold will do far more harm than good in his current state."

"Of course..."Kagome said; the words had barely left her lips when the taller orange haired human picked up her demon guest and waited for her to direct him to a room. Kagome was suddenly very thankful that upon her arrival back in the modern era; she had felt the need to repaint her room. A change had been needed. Painting over the horrible childish pink walls had been the easiest and cheapest solution; she painted them pale sea foam green, with white trim. Now instead of pinks and whites; her room was comprised of greens and blues with splashes of royal purple. She couldn't imagine what these men would think of her if her room had still been done in pink and white ruffles. Hard to take anyone seriously when you realized they lived in a fluffy, pink and white ruffled world.

A moment later two women landed in a heap on the hallway floor. Kagome looked at the newcomers. Definitely NOT human. No human had natural hair color those shades. The taller of the two women had bright blue hair pulled up in a high tail, brown pressed slacks and a tan long sleeve shirt. The other had lovely free flowing aqua hair and large luminous ruby colored eyes; and wore a lovely traditional style kimono nearly the same color as her hair and accented in pink. The air around her was positively frigid.

"I brought Yukina!" The blue haired women said, she was even more cheerful then Kagome had ever been, even on her most hyper of days. "You found Hiei?"

The aqua haired girl-Yukina- rushed into the room to kneel beside the injured dark haired demon. Immediately her hands began to glow as they traveled over his body. Her pale ruby eyes glowed as she worked.

"Come..." Kurama said, "Let's leave Yukina in peace to work". Everyone filed out of the room and settled around the kitchen table.

"It you don't mind how is it you came to find Hiei miss...?" Kurama asked. The woman smiled,

"Kagome, Kagome Higurashi." She replied. Beside them, Boton sucked in a deep breath; they glanced at the blue haired woman but for once Boton was silent.

"And you all are?" Kagome asked. The red head blushed;

"Of course, where are my manners? I am Shuichi Minamino but everyone calls me Kurama. This is Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kwabara, and Boton."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Kagome said, "And to answer your question I suppose you could say the dragon called me. Its rampage caught my attention, and its pain called to me. I found your friend; Hiei was it… when I went to investigate what the dark energy was. He wasn't breathing so I resuscitated him. A few moments after that a tribe of these snake-like demons surrounded us. They were pretty pissed at your friend and attempted to kill him. After they had been dealt with your friend collapsed again; so I brought him up here to try and tend his wounds. And here you find us." Everyone blinked at the woman.

"You felt the dragon's energy and approached anyway?!" Boton asked. Kagome shrugged.

"Of course," She replied, "I needed to know what was so close to my shrine and figure out if it was a threat to my home or not. In reality the dragon is no different from any large predator; and I've been around my fair share," Kagome grinned, would Kouga and Sesshomaru approve of being called predators or be offended?

"In any case, it was more interested in protecting your friend then it was in eating me; beside I knew I wasn't going to hurt him." She replied, then turned intelligent dark eyes to Boton, "and how is it you know my name? You seem very familiar but, at the same time, I'm fairly certain I've never met you before. I think I would remember meeting someone with that particular shade of hair color."

"Eh heh heh..." Boton laughed nervously, "Well um...you see... "

Suddenly all eyes were on her, she sighed in defeat, "I'm one of the grim reapers of the Spirit World. I work for Lord Koenma...the ruler of Spirit World. And as the...um...guardian of the Shikon No Tama all of your actions have been very closely monitored... so," Boton gave her a deep bow, "I'm honored to meet you, Miss Kagome."

Kagome regarded the reaper in front of her, dark eyes narrowing. The idea of someone monitoring her movements was not a pleasant notion. Especially since they knew about the jewel AND associated with demons; though... none of these demons seemed to have any interest in this jewel. Except perhaps the fox... she saw his eyes light up at the mention of a jewel. She drummed her fingers on the table and regarded the three young men.

"And what is your story?" she asked,

"We're spirit detectives." Yusuke replied; "Well I am. Kurama, Kwabara and Hiei are part of my team. We capture demons that illegally cross the barrier to hunt humans. We either send the back or kill them depending on circumstances."

"Yesterday we were on such a hunt," Kurama said picking up the narrative. "During the battle Hiei was pulled into the river. When he never returned or attempted to make contact with us... we became worried. So we started to search for him. Our search leads us here to you, Miss Kagome."

Kagome nodded. "What's this about a barrier?"

Again everyone looked to Kurama to explain; however it was Boton who spoke up.

"Centuries ago King Enma separated the worlds; one for demons, the Makai, One for humans, the Ningenkai, and the spirit world, the Reikai."

Kagome thought this over; it certainly made sense why she didn't sense as many demons here. Sure she would sense the occasional demonic energy...but nowhere near as frequently as when she was in the feudal era. Suddenly the approach of a massive dark energy had everyone coming to their feet. Kagome smiled recognizing the particular combination of cold and darkness. She walked outside as a satisfied dragon came twisting thru the darkening trees. Behind her she felt her guests tense. Her power rose to meet the dragon, caressing it. It seemed the great beast enjoyed her warmth and light as much as she enjoyed its darkness and cold. The dragon curled around her whispering of the things it had seen, the foes it had destroyed the joy and anger it took in battle. In turn Kagome told it of the places she been the people she had met, the laughter shared and the tears she had shed. All this took mere moments; a silent communion of two souls.

"Return to your partner, great one" Kagome whispered, "lend him your strength."

The team watched in silent amazement as Kagome was bathed in black flames only to emerge unscathed. With one last bellow the dragon disappeared into shadows and returned to Hiei's side. Kagome smiled at where the dragon had disappeared. Like many of the creatures she had met in her travels; despite its strength and ferocity it had grown to like her in an amazingly short amount of time. It amazed her how many friends she made of 'unsavory characters' simply by showing them a little kindness. Or perhaps it was simply because she showed them no fear? For whatever reason, she thanked the powers- that- be for her ability to befriend even the most volatile creature.

"How did you….?" Boton asked, dumbfounded. Kagome blinked at the girl.

"How did I what?" She asked.

"Tame the Dragon..."Kwabara muttered. Kagome laughed;

"Tame it? You must be kidding!" She replied, "No one can tame that dragon. It listens to those it likes and respects. Everyone else is food."

"Hiei tamed it..." Kwabara said, "Didn't he?" Kagome smiled at him;

"If the dragon was a reluctant servant then when it freed itself the first time at the river it would have killed your friend while he was weak thus ensuring its freedom." She said with a smile, "No, the dragon respects your friend and works with him much like a partner. It's a symbiotic relationship. Your friend gets the added power the dragon provides, while the dragon is able to feed on his enemies. Without the aid of your friend it would be resigned back to the hell realm. It doesn't want that. It enjoys it here too much. So it lends your friend its power. Which I must say is impressive. To internalize and harness such power... your friend must be very strong indeed."

"He's alright...,"Yusuke stated. Kagome smiled.

"Spoken like a true man." She giggled. A few minutes later the young healer came down the stairs looking exhausted.

"He's resting," she said in a soft voice, "he had water trapped in his lungs. Such exposure to his elemental opposite was weakening him to the point of illness. Combine with his already dual nature... his body was fighting itself. I've removed the water and I believe I've restored the balance the best I could," Yukina said, "The rest is up to him."

Everyone was quiet for a long moment. "Is anyone hungry?" Kagome asked. There was a chorus of affirmatives.

"Not to sound self- centered..." Kagome said as she prepared to make a meal "but what about my house? My mother will be home in a month and I have a gaping hole in my roof..."

I hope ya'll enjoyed this latest chapter. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own either InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did I'd probably have a lot more money. So, don't bother sueing; all you would get would be some blood thirty dust bunnies and a couple of fuzzy floor sharks.

A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I've tried to respond to all of those who were wonderful enough to review my work. If I haven't I apologize... I wasn't ignoring you, it's just difficult to keep track of who I respond to when I'm working from my mobile (which is what I normal do).

I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Call of the Dragon

Chapter 3:

He floated in a dark icy watery hell. He couldn't move, couldn't speak... he was cold...so damn cold. Such a strange sensation...one he had never truly experienced. He was fire personified... never in his life had he felt the icy claws of cold that clung to him now. Even being engulfed by the darkness flame hadn't felt this cold. Even the frozen wasteland of the Koormine Island hadn't felt this bone numbing cold. Images flashed in his mind... memories he tried hard to forget.

The koormine who cast him out.

The loss of warmth when he was taken from his mother...

The fear he had as an infant.

The rush of icy wind as he fell...

The blood he had spilled as retribution.

The rage... such sweet tantalizing rage...

Distantly he felt the dragon bellow; echoing his rage. But it was distant... gone as another memory assaulted him.

Unimaginable pain... all to find his sister. ...

Yukina... he felt her for a moment. Sweet innocent Yukina; the only bright spot in his otherwise dismal existence.

All too soon she too was ripped away... pain racked his body. He wanted to curl in on himself. Perhaps this was hell? Had he died? He clenched his jaw refusing to scream... it felt like shards of glass were moving through his bloodstream; slowly ripping him apart from the inside.

Suddenly soft warmth enveloped him; soothing and comforting. A voice whispered to him thru the darkness...for the first time in ages he felt the pain recede. He relaxed, surrounded in that gentle warmth. Was this what it felt like to be held? To be surrounded by someone's love?

He wanted to laugh. Since when did he long for such a thing? Love was for the weak. How often had a loved one been used against them? He had used Urameshi's woman against him the first time they met. Later Toguro had used the threat of harm to their loved ones to force them into the Dark Tournament.

Ridiculous.

Love was just a liability waiting to happen. He neither wanted nor deserved love. He made his own way; cutting a bloody path thru anyone who stood against him. He needed no one but himself. A soft voice could be heard through the never ending darkness; so soft and warm. It whispered its sweet song to him; the inaudible words wrapped him in a blanket of comforting warmth, easing the rage that always simmered just beneath the surface. He had no sense of time floating in that black abyss. Sometimes the pain would return... he almost welcomed it. For with the pain eventually came the sweet voice whispered in song and the gentle warmth that chased away the pain.

After a while the darkness was not so encompassing. He could hear voices... snatches of conversation too soft to actually hear the words. He was certain he heard Kwabara's brash voice at one point. He heard the soft lyrical lilt of his sister... the cool tones of the fox; even the harsh baritone of the detective.

Where were they? Were they trapped in the darkness too? He longed to use his Jagon to sense his environment; but that ability seemed to be denied him as well. He wanted to roar his frustration. Where was he? Dammit, if this was his afterlife he would somehow manage to hunt down the idiotic toddler prince and finally kill him! Slowly... painfully... he wasn't sure how since he couldn't move... but he'd figure out a way. If this truly was hell...then he had an eternity to figure out a way to extract his revenge against the infantile prince. Revenge would keep his mind occupied and off the cold.

_Demon hand defends...mortal hands sustains..._

Hiei jerked, what was that? He could hear voices now... and ….there…. single pinprick of light. He drifted closer.

_"Inuyasha!" _

_"Windscar!"_

_ "Sit boy!"_

_ "I'm going home."_

_ "Hiraikotsu!" _

_"Lord Sesshomaru!"_

_ "Pathetic half breed..."_

_ "Wind tunnel!"_

_ "Kikyou..."_

_ "How's my woman?"_

_ "Where's the jewel shard? "_

Hiei wanted to cover his ear at the ensuing racket. Dozens of voices talking at once bombarded him.

_"Inuyasha...I'll stay by your side..."_

_ "Do you have someone to protect?"_

_ "What are friends for?"_

_ "Inuyasha!"_

_ "Shut up and let me protect you!"_

Hiei wanted to snarl...where the hell were these voices coming from? Suddenly he could see flashes of light and color. A boy who resembled Youko Kurama without the tail dressed in red, a shit eating grin plastered across his face, so similar to Urameshi's it was unnerving. A woman in the black armor of ancient demon slayers; a massive boomerang held effortless in her hands. Behind her a large cream and black nekomata stood... were there even any nekomatas left now?

More images coming faster... a dark haired wolf demon... a small red kistune... a dark haired monk in purple. Then... a figure he did recognize... the tall silver haired figure of the inu-youkai lord was impossible to mistake. Except... he looked younger...

_"Pathetic... your demon blood has taken over...know your place!"_

Blue-white lightening exploded before his eyes as a figure in red went flying.

_ "Inuyasha! You have to work WITH your brother!"_

_ "Are you crazy?! He won't work with me!"_

Hiei turned to this new source of voices and felt his eyes widen. He saw wave after wave of undead skeleton soldiers marching from an enormous hole in the earth... the hopeless miasma that filled the air beckoned; urging all souls to give up... to succumb to its siren song... life wasn't worth living.

_Abandon all hope, ye who enter here*.._... He wasn't sure where that thought came from, but it was appropriate. So THAT was hell... made the Netherworld look like Disneyland. Despite the horror he felt in front of him; he felt himself moving.

_"No! Don't!" _

A voice behind him called, urging him to stop, to return to the safety of the barrier. What barrier? He didn't bother to look back.

_ "Inuyasha!" _

Across the abyss he saw the two silver haired inu-youkai; Sesshomaru and the Youko look-a- like, battling some odd opponent. The thing looked like one big jeweled eye and a sword for an arm. He watched as a large ball of energy came flying towards him; yet… despite being able to see the attack… he couldn't move! The blast struck entirely to close for comfort; destroying the cliff he was standing on. He fell... fear gripped him and a scream ripped from his throat...

Scream?

Hiei never screamed. What the fuck? Though he felt fear...it was distant...muted...

Not his own.

Suddenly he was surrounded in red and his feet were placed firmly on the ground.

_"You ok?"_ The Youko look-a-like, dressed in red asked.

_ "I'm fine, Inuyasha. You have to work with your brother..."_

Brother?

So this was the lord Sesshomaru's bastard half-breed brother? The half breed looked like he had swallowed something foul...

_ "It's not that simple, Kagome..."_

Kagome? Where had he heard that name before?

_"He's your brother! Would it kill you to work together on this!?"_

Hiei saw the opponent..._Sounga_... how did he know that name? Raise his sword like arm;

_ "Dragon twister!"_

A huge tornado of demonic energy came flying towards them.

_ "Backlash wave!"_

The Youko look-a-like, Inuyasha was it… bellowed, sending is own tornado of energy flying to intercept his opponents.

_ "Dragon strike!"_

Sesshomaru's deep baritone yelled, further off; the blue white lightning dragon joined his brother's tornadic energy as it rushed forward...decimating Sounga's attack and destroying the evil sword...

Centuries ago Hiei had heard of the great battle where a hole to Hell had been opened in the middle of Japan. He hadn't paid it any mind at the time; far too busy with hunting for the Koormine island. The battle had happened nearly five hundred years ago… how the hell was he seeing the battle as if he had participated in it?

The scene faded to be replaced by comforting purple-black flames. He revealed in the cold dark power...so quiet... such a nice contrast to the barrage of voices heard moments before.

_'Hiei?'_

The soft whisper floated through the darkness. He didn't recognize the voice...though it was so faint he could barely hear it.

_'Hiei?'_

Again... the voice drifted to him barely audible.

_'Wake up please...'_

The voice was louder now...still so soft; a bare whisper of sound.

_ 'I don't wanna loose anyone else...'_

_ 'Please' _

The voice pleaded,

_'Please wake up...'_

Soft sobs echoed thru the darkness. Whoever it was… was crying… for him?

Impossible.

No one would shed tears for him. He was a cold blooded murderous thief. There wasn't a single thing about him that was worthy of anyone's sorrow or pity; and certainly not their tears. Still the soft sobs echoed in the darkness.

Soon the soft sound faded, leaving him surrounded the silence of the darkness flame. So many things didn't make sense... but he could be patient. It was not in his nature...but it was a lesson he had learned well over the centuries.

He drifted for a time, how long… he wasn't sure. It felt like centuries….finally though, he felt himself rising. He recognized the feeling... like waking from a hibernation. Slowly his senses came alive one by one.

He kept his eyes closed and breathing even... he couldn't remember where he had hibernated or why he had needed to in the first place. So... where the fuck was he?

It was quiet... he could hear the soft rustle of leaves and a soft caress of a cool breeze. The scent of antiseptic and salve was strong. He could also smell the gentle scent of ice and flowers-Yukina, and the familiar scent of roses- Kurama. He could barely catch the scent of the others- fainter though. There was another scent... stronger than the others but almost as familiar. How had he looked over it before? It surrounded him...covered him... the scent of spring rain and lightning. How long had he been there, that a strange scent had become familiar? He shifted, subtly tensing his body, checking for restraints. Feeling none and sensing the presence of his team mates within the structure... he opened his eyes.

The room was dark, neat...but cluttered. An open window explained the cool breeze... he was half tempted to leap out the window and disappear into the dark forest.

"I wouldn't," A soft voice said from the foot of the bed. Hiei leapt off the bed and whirled; ignoring the pain from his mostly-healed wounds, his hand going to the katana that wasn't there. Startled Hiei glanced down at himself... where the hell was his sword?! And...whose pants was he wearing?

He shook his head and focused his attention on the threat in front of him. He hadn't even heard them approach.

"There's a barrier on the window...it's meant to keep any unsavory characters from breaking into the house. I'd hate for you to rebound off it and reverse all the hard work Miss Yukina put into healing you." The figure...a young woman... walked in and set a tray of hot soup on the night stand. "I felt you waking so I brought you food. You haven't eaten anything in close to a week; I hope you like Miso Soup."

"I've been here a week?" Hiei growled. How was that even possible? He never would have allowed himself to hibernate surrounded by strangers. He had, reluctantly, allowed himself to hibernate around his team...but that was only because there hadn't been much of a choice back in the Dark Tournament. They had kept his body safe true but he was hesitant to rely on them in such a fashion on a regular basis.

The girl nodded, "Yes. We were all worried for you. You gave us quite a scare."

"Hn..." Hiei glared at his surroundings, "Where am I? How did I get here, onna?"

"Well first off... My name is Kagome Higurashi; not onna. This is my home. And I brought you here." Hiei wanted to growl. While the girl technically answered his questions... her answers didn't really answer anything!

"Why don't you eat and rest. I'll send your red-headed friend up in a moment." She said...then disappeared back down the dark hallway. Hiei was tempted to follow her, he wanted answers dammit. Yet, he could still feel a slight weakness in his limbs... not that he would ever admit that even on pain of death. He was tempted to follow just to rebel; who the hell was this girl to tell him what to do?

"She's the woman who saved you;" Kurama's calm, cool voice stated, "it would be prudent to be polite. Her involvement has gotten Koenma is one hell of a tizzy."

Hiei glared as the fox came around the corner and flicked on the table side light. A soft yellow glow filled the room. Reluctantly Hiei picked up the bowl of soup and began to eat it; not because she had told him to but rather because he was hungry and needed to replenish his body's energy.

"How much do you remember?" Kurama asked. Hiei blinked and thought...

"The rock demon..." he replied, everything after that was a hazy pain filled blur. He was certain it would come into focus eventually but he wanted answers now...and if the fox would give them... he would listen.

Ok how was it? Hope it wasn't to confusing. I was hoping to convey a certain sense of confusion without actually leaving the reader confused. As for the 'voices' Hiei was hearing; I tried to think of common or 'important' statments that Kagome might have heard that would kinda echo in her head if she thought of her time in the feudal era. We all know that sometimes when we think of people we can actually 'hear' their voices in our head; or even have a phrase they spoke a lot that was connect to the memory. Also... you might be wondering why I used the Battle with Sounga as this particular dream-memory... Kagome witnessed many 'horrors' during her time in the feudal era... and like an vet who has experienced battle, I'm sure that Kagome(should he have been a real person) would suffer from PTSD (Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome)... and would have vivid nighmares of the battles. And seeing a hole to Hell open in front of you with a whole army of undead soldiers spilling out... probably counts of one of her more terrifying experiences. Least... I would think so. So it wouldn't be surprising of that was one of her more frequent nightmares.

I know this chapter was shorter then the others... but I just couldn't figure out what came next. Everything I wrote sounded awful. So, I'll post this and work on the next chapter from another angle. I don't want this story to go on much longer, since this is only suppose to be a 'friendship' piece. And I hope Hiei didn't sound to out of character... he's a surprisingly hard POV to write.

Please lemme know what you think! Review, review, review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own either InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did I'd probably have a lot more money. So, don't bother sueing; all you would get would be some blood thirty dust bunnies and a couple of fuzzy floor sharks.

Call of the Dragon

Chapter 4:

Kagome left Kurama to speak with his friend in peace. How long had it been since she was a part of a team like that? Two years? No... Closer to three. She missed them terribly; her feudal age family. They had spent over four years fighting Naraku and collecting jewel shards; not exactly the life she had envisioned for herself. She hadn't minded though; for the most part she had enjoyed the company of her friends. The battles were terrifying... the demons were like something straight out of a horror flick; but the intense battles forged a near unbreakable bond within their group. They were closer then friends... closer then family.

They had all suspected that once Naraku was destroyed and the jewel completed that Kagome would no longer be allowed to stay in the past. It was a sheer fluke that she had come there anyway... pulled there by the combined might of demonic power and the Jewel's potency. Rather reminded her of that ring in that movie...what was it called? Oh yes... 'Lord of the Rings'. One ring to rule them all... More like one jewel to rule them all. The blasted thing seemed to call to anyone with darkness in them. It whispered seductively to anyone who bothered to listen... promising them power, wealth...anything their heart desired.

Stupid jewel; always making her life difficult.

She sighed heavily and flopped to the ground at the base of the Tree of Ages. She was so tired. She was tired of being a priestess. Tired of protecting a jewel she never wanted. Tired of always having to be the responsible one; tired of always being the one who had to DO something to solve whatever problem the universe seemed to decide she needed to solve. All she had ever wanted was to graduate high school, go to college, meet a nice boy, fall in love, get married, and have some kids... normal human dreams. What was so bad about that?! At no point in time did she ever wish to be dragged into the past, fight, or be in any way shape or form involved with demons! She could have lived her life quite happily without all those complications.

But...she hadn't. For whatever reason destiny decided that she had to be THAT person... the 'hero'... the person who would do what needed to be done when no one else was willing to do it. It was a very lonely life being the 'good guy'; sometimes she really hated being so bloody self-sacrificing. Why couldn't she just once be selfish and take something for herself? It just simply wasn't in her nature. If she could spare a loved one pain then she would; even if it meant taking the pain upon herself. InuYasha and Kikyo were prime examples. She had loved that stupid hanyou with her whole heart; she would have done anything to make him happy...and did.

In the end; she had made a wish on the jewel. She had wished for Kikyo to return to life within the feudal era... so she and Inuyasha could live the lives that Naraku had denied them. However... since one soul couldn't inhabit two bodies...and Kagome was technically a reincarnation of Kikyo... Kagome had to forfeit her friends from the feudal era. She was returned to her proper time.

She often thought about her friends; she hoped they had all lived happy long lives. It broke her heart to know that Sango and Miroku were dead and gone. She often wondered at the odds of running into their reincarnations; but she didn't get her hopes up. For all she knew they could have been reincarnated in America or even Europe... if they had been reincarnated at all. She had hoped that perhaps Shippou would find her, here in the future. She hadn't held out any hope that Sesshomaru would look for her; they had only been allies after all. But she had thought Shippou might seek her out. She knew demons existed in this era... had known even before her current guests had arrived. She had felt them, just on the peripheral of her senses. Just mere flickers of awareness; there and gone again. None seemed to acknowledge her or even sense her presence. Which, she supposed was just as well. What were the odds of the demonic energy she sensed being one of her friends? Really?

More likely it would be a hostile demon who decided they wanted the jewel... which had returned to merge with her body when it brought her back to the present era. So, in reality...she really didn't want to run into any demons; especially since there was no Inuyasha around to protect her. She would be responsible for her own protection from now on; and when she had first returned home... she was horribly unprepared. The only way she knew to defend herself was with her bow. She had become fairly decent at archery while in the feudal era. However here in the modern era it simply wasn't practical to carry a bow. She had also learned to harness her holy powers; unfortunately... holy powers didn't affect normal humans... while it seemed that the jewel did.

She had learned pretty quickly that she needed to be able to defend herself against regular average humans who were swayed by the seductive power of the jewel. So she split her time between studying to get her Alternative Education Diploma and various martial arts. After all, four years of fighting in the feudal era was not very conducive to studying and passing school. After a year of trying to do both; Kagome had realized that she had to pick one... either complete school or defeat Naraku.

Needless to say killing Naraku had taken precedence.

Now...three years later she had her diploma and could hold her own in a fight. All in all, life had returned to some semblance of the normality she had had before being dragged down the well...aside from the occasional weak human that succumb to the jewels seduction. Once she had figured out how to dampen the jewels aura; and coincidentally her own... those random occurrences tapered off. She still flinched at sudden noises and tended to react violently if people approached her from behind. She hated being around large crowds of people... the potential for attack was that much greater and ten times harder to anticipate. She had more or less become a hermit; living at and tending the shrine. It was quiet and peaceful there. Her barrier kept those with negative intentions away from her home and alerted her should any demon cross its boundary.

She missed the peace and solitude of the feudal era... the miles and miles of open land... days between villages. Here in Tokyo, even the air felt oppressive. Hundreds of thousands of people all living right on top of each other... made her claustrophobic just thinking about it. The shrine was her haven... but even here she wasn't completely at ease. Sleep eluded her most nights...only allowing her a few hours of sleep before the nightmares would force her awake. Just the night before, she had dreamed of the battle with Sounga; the cursed sword of Inuyasha's father. Her holy power had prevented her from succumbing to Hell's depressing aura... unlike poor Sango, who nearly walked straight into the Hell pit; still she had felt its call. A part of her, that part that was just so tired of everything, had longed to simply end it there. To succumb to the siren song... but she couldn't. Her friends needed her. Inuyasha needed her. So despite how badly she just wanted to close her eyes and give up; she couldn't. She battled thru it; every challenge they ever faced she'd held on to the hope that things would get better.

So here she sat...the reclusive guardian of a curse jewel who suffered from nightmare induce insomnia and acute loneliness. Yea life was so dang peachy for her.

"Stop wallowing in self-pity;" she chastised herself, irritated at the depressing spiral her thoughts had taken. She climbed to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her jeans; she had guests to tend to. The sun would soon be on the horizon and they would be waking.

Time to be a good little hostess and make some breakfast. Life always looked better on a full stomach.

Still, seeing the camaraderie of this group was so bitter sweet. They reminded her so much of the pack she left behind; especially the red head and the loud mouth leader. Kurama's red hair and emerald green eyes reminded her so much of her Shippou; didn't help that he was a kistune as well. Even his energy felt similar. More than once she had caught herself before allowing Shippou's name to roll of her tongue instead of his. The leader- Yusuke had to be a reincarnation of Inuyasha. Surely the gods wouldn't have made two cocky, arrogant, loud mouth, crude half demons and send them to torture her? They were so similar in personality and temperament that Kagome kept expecting the detective to have fuzzy ears and golden eyes. Kwabara was probably the only one who didn't remind her of someone. Though seriously... what crackerjack box did they pull him out of? He may look and act like an incompetent fool but she had never seen someone who was so...inherently GOOD; and folks called her pure. Sheesh.

Kwabara's aura practically glowed like a sun. He didn't have a negative bone in his body. Pity he hadn't been born with holy powers... he easily would have been able to rival her or Kikyo. As it was, he had a hell of a lot of potential... even if he was just one giant goof ball. Him and Urameshi were constantly bickering and rolling around in the floor fighting. At one point Kagome had asked if they were brothers since the rivalry they had was more like that of siblings then best friends. Their relationship had made more sense when Kurama had explained that they had been rivals BEFORE they had technically been friends. Men… such strange creatures. How could two people be so pissed with each other that they attempedt to beat the bloody hell out of each other; only to then laugh and go get burgers after the fight was over? She grinned as she whisked the eggs for omelets; she figured that it really wasn't any different than how all of her friends and allies had at one point tried to kill or kidnap her…. Or steal her hard won jewel shards.

The scent of breakfast seemed to rouse her guests better than any alarm clock; soon she heard the creaking of the sofa and the creak of floorboards as someone slowly made their way toward the bathroom. Kagome grinned; did they always wake this slowly? Before her adventure in time; she had needed caffeine of some form to jumpstart her brain in the morning… however after her time with Inuyasha, she no longer needed such help. Nine times out of ten she was already awake long before the sun; and if not, then she woke with it. Perhaps it was the jewels influence; but she didn't seem to suffer any ill effects from her insomnia. She rarely felt lethargic, and never needed a nap during the day. Then again, now that she thought about it… she hadn't been sick since she returned home either. Not even a sniffle in three years. In fact, she didn't look any older either… most people thought she was still in high school. A couple times she had been stopped and asked why she wasn't in school and had only be left alone when she produced an ID stating she was now twenty-one…not seventeen. The implications made her stomach churn and she forced her thoughts away from such things and back to safer ground; like contemplating her guests.

She had little else to do in the quiet hours while everyone else was sleeping. It was far easier to study and analyze their energy while they were asleep; less questions too. At the moment they were politely dancing around each other trying to give enough information to satisfy the situation, but not enough to give away their secrets. She knew her guests were silently studying her as much as she was them; at least she knew Kurama was. Kurama… that name sounded so familiar. Where had she heard it from? Something Shippou had said…. She felt her eyes widen as finally it dawned on her. Shippou's idol. Of course! The little Kistune was always going on about a 'Youko Kurama', some type of ancient master thief. It was hard to envision the cute red-head as the cold-blooded, murderous, thief; though, it wasn't so difficult to imagine the silver haired kistune she occasionally saw. The boy's energy also puzzled her; in fact… other than Kwabara's, every one of their energies puzzled her. She could tell Kurama was human…yet, his energy felt demonic and she could easily see the kistune image overlay the human face. He didn't seem to be possessed, or haunted… Then there was Urameshi… another human who felt like a demon. He almost felt like Inuyasha during the night of the new moon. He had been human, but if she concentrated, she could barely sense a flicker of his demonic energy. She knew she had refered to him as a hanyou in her head, unconsciously associating him with her old friend; but was this Urameshi indeed some type of hanyou?

Speaking of half-breeds… her mind turned to the cause of all this unrest in the first place… he was a full demon, of that she was certain. However she had never felt such conflicting, opposing energy before. When she first met him, his energy was barely there, just enough to let her know he was a demon but not allowing her enough of a glimpse to decipher anything else. As he healed and his power returned; she had felt the opposing energies. Kurama had said he was a fire apparition; yet… part of his energy was cold… similar to the healer Yukina's energy. Very similar… like family similar. She had been an ice apparition… could he seriously be a combination of fire and ice? No wonder his energies were so opposed.

"Mornin'," a voice behind her yawned; she turned and smiled at the sleepy-eyed Detective. It was obviously that he had splashed water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up, not that it looked like it worked very well. His eyes were still half-lidded and unfocused.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully, he scowled.

"You're one of those 'morning people' aren't you?" he grumbled. Kagome laughed and waved a cup of coffee in front of him. He seemed to perk up a little at the scent of caffeine.

"I've been up for a while," she said, "Sit."

Still half asleep he did as he was told only to have a large plate of food placed in front of him. The detective's eyes widened.

"Wow…" he muttered, "I could seriously get use to this."

Yusuke hadn't been expecting much when he half stumbled into the kitchen. The scent of food and the sound of someone moving around had woken him up; so after a quick trip to the bathroom to relieve himself and splash cold water on his face; he had followed his nose to the kitchen. He had fully intended on making a run to a fast-food place around the corner to get breakfast for him and the guys; he couldn't ask the priestess for anything more than what she had already done. So when first coffee and then a full plate of food was placed in front of him; all he could do was stare for a moment.

"You seriously didn't have to do this," he said, as his tired brain finally caught up with what his eyes were showing him. The table was full of food. How the hell long had she been up cooking?!

Kagome shrugged and grinned; "It's no trouble," she said.

"Holy cow!" Kwabara's voice exclaimed from the living room door, "Look at all the food! Is that for us?"

Kagome laughed at the pleading look he sent her way; willing her to say yes.

"Of course, silly" she replied, shaking her head as he gave a loud whoop and started filling a plate. "You honestly didn't think I made all of this for me did you?"

"I'm surprised you made anything at all," Yusuke said, swallowing a large bite of fluffy yellow egg; "We could have fended for ourselves, you didn't have to go through this trouble."

Kagome smiled as she set a bowl filled with biscuits down in the center of the table; immediately several disappeared.

"It wasn't any trouble, Detective…"

"Yusuke," he corrected. Kagome gave him another smile,

"Yusuke…" She corrected, and continued, "I use to cook meals like this for my friends…. I always enjoyed it, and haven't gotten to do it in a very long time."

Her voice took on a slight melancholy edge and for a moment her eyes got a distant look; before she shook herself and gave them another smile.

Still, her sadness bothered Yusuke. If she enjoyed cooking for her friends so much; why had she stopped? He was tempted to ask; but something made him hold his tongue…

Kwabara however, didn't…

"So why'd you stop then?" he asked as he stuffed another half of a biscuit into his mouth, "If you enjoy it so much why haven't you done it in a while? Did your friends move or something?"

Yusuke could have kicked Kwabara as the girls face fell a bit, "Something like that," she replied.

"Surely you have more friends that you could invite over," Kwabara trudged on, completely oblivious to the change in the girl's expression; Yusuke aimed a kick at his friend's knee. Damn him for sitting at the opposite end of the table. "Nice girl like you has got to have a ton of friends."

"No, not anymore," she said softly, meeting Kwabara's eyes when the other paused at her tone, "Kind of hard to have friends when they might be attacked by demons."

"Oh…." Kwabara wanted to slink under the table as Urameshi sent a hostile glare his way. Kagome placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok," she said, giving Yusuke a sad smile, "He didn't know. To answer your question, no…I don't have a lot of friends anymore. The human friends I had have no place in a world of sacred jewels and power hungry demons. So I let them drift away. The ones I use to travel with a few years ago knew; and were more than capable to handle themselves against demons… but, I had to leave them a few years back. So, for the most part I stay here and tend the shrine. I have my family; but now that my brother is in high school, and my grandfather passed away a couple years back… my mother is thinking of moving back into the city. So more than likely I'll have this place to myself in a year or so. It's too dangerous for them anyway; I can't always be here and what would happen if a rogue demon got past my barriers while I was gone? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to them because of me."

"Very noble of you," Kurama's voice said from the hallway.

"Hn," Another voice said from beside the taller man. Dark crimson eyes glared at her. Kagome smiled at the dark haired demon, letting her gaze flick over his person checking his injuries. He was dressed once again in dark pants, and a cloak that was similar to the one she had to trash; she could only assume Kurama had brought him clothes. A white bandana was tied around his forehead; Kagome could feel an odd pulse of malicious energy there at the third eye chakra. His right arm was completely bandaged as well; covered in seals and sutras. She could barely sense the pulse of the dragon beneath those bindings. Interesting.

Hiei let out a low growl as the priestess studied him; he was not in the mood to deal with nosy humans. Everyone tensed at the sound, watching as Hiei's grip tightened on the sword Kurama had returned to him. Everyone knew Hiei was volatile on the best of days; but surely he wouldn't attack the woman who saved him? Kagome, however, ignored the threatening growl and turned a brilliant smile on the pair.

"I'm so glad to see you up and moving, Hiei;" she said, the sheer brilliance of her smile and the relief in her eyes was enough to stun even Hiei for a moment. "Please, won't you both sit down? There's plenty for everyone."

Kurama moved into the room and sat, followed by a reluctant Hiei. He really had no desire to sit and be social; however Kurama had made it very clear that he was to be polite to this woman. So he sat; he wasn't hungry, and if Kurama was correct with how sick he had been, then the hearty food before him would only upset his already queasy stomach. All he wanted was to get out of that stifling hot room and escape to the quiet comfort of the trees.

Kagome opened the kitchen windows and propped open the back door; allowing the cool morning air to fill the room.

"It's going to be another beautiful day," she said, casually placing a cup of hot tea in front of Hiei. He gave her another glare; which she ignored, far to use to demons glaring at her to be troubled. Instead she grinned at him and gave him a flirtatious wink,

"Try it," she said, "Promise I didn't poison it."

Hiei glowered at the woman; turning his glared towards his teammates hoping to silence their snickers. Idiotic onna.

"Kagome."

"I beg your pardon?" Kurama asked; looking at Kagome puzzled. She smiled,

"I'm reminding Hiei, my name is Kagome… not onna or whatever other name he's calling me in his head at the moment." Kagome replied; taking a bite of the fresh berries she had placed on the table.

A slight widening of said demons eyes confirmed her suspicions; then narrowed threateningly. Somehow she just knew that he was contemplating all the ways he could get away with killing her. However, she suspected that Kurama had forced him to be on his best behavior, especially when Hiei clenched his jaw against whatever he was about to say. She wanted to laugh and tell him that scarier demons then him had tried to intimidate and kill her; all had failed; but she didn't want to provoke the little firecracker anymore then she already had. Now that he was awake; he kind of reminded her of Sesshomaru with his icy expression, haunty attitude and his fondness for silence and single syllable words. And just like she had with Sesshomaru… she enjoyed jerking his proverbial tail. It had to be the lofty attitude… that holier-then-thou mentality just begged her to try to incite a reaction. Heaven knows she would probably pay for it; but, getting even an annoyed eye twitch was worth it. It wasn't every day that she had company who was just as odd as she was; she would enjoy it while it lasted.

After breakfast, Kagome decided to give her guests the basic tour and allow them to digest a bit before they decided it was time to leave.

"This is the Tree of Ages," she said, resting her hand lovingly against the great trees bark, "It's stood on these grounds for hundreds of years, and spanned generations. Ancient people believed it was sacred. Legend says that at one time, some five hundred years or so ago; a half demon was pinned to this tree by the priestess of a nearby village."

Kurama could feel the ancient energy of the tree almost like it was a living breathing entity instead of plant life. Centuries of love and worship had given the tree some semblance of consciousness; he could feel the tree's fondness for the young priestess. This tree of certainly different from any other form of vegetation Kurama had ever encountered.

"A half demon huh?" Yusuke said, "Did it ever say what its name was?"

Kagome smiled, that same small sad smile she had on her face when she had been talking about her friends earlier;

"Yes," she said, "His name was InuYasha. He was one of two sons of the great Inu no Taishou. "

"No kidding," Yusuke said, fascinated with the idea that there had been another half demon/human like him. Kagome nodded.

"He was rumored to be very powerful and defeated numerous opponents in his life." Kagome said. Hiei snorted.

"Couldn't have been very powerful if he was pinned to a tree," he stated. Yusuke glared at him; Kagome smiled at him.

"He was pinned to the tree by a powerful Priestess named Kikyo; the former guardian of the Shikon No Tama. Inuyasha initially tried to steal the jewel; intending to wish upon it to become a full demon like his father and brother. However, he ended up falling in love with the Priestess, and she with him;" Kagome said, "During that same time, Kikyo had found and was attempting to nurse a bandit named Onigumo back to health. The bandit fell in love with Kikyo; but when she was unable to return his affection; he offered his body up to demons in exchange for power. He became a powerful and malevolent hanyou called Naraku. Naraku in turn, twisted Onigumo's love for the priestess; and decided to try to corrupt her purity. He took the form of the priestess's beloved, Inuyasha, and attacked her… fatally wounding her in the assault. Then, he took the form of Kikyo and attacked Inuyasha…. Destroying the fragile trust both had placed in the other. Furious, InuYasha attacked the village and stole the jewel in retribution. However, as he was making his escape; Kikyo was able to fire off a single arrow… piercing Inuyasha straight through the heart and pinning him to this tree; after that this entire area was referred to as 'the forest of Inuyasha'. Later Kikyo died from her wounds and the Jewel burned with her body; in hopes that it would be forever lost in the blaze….." Kagome's voice trailed off; speaking of Inuyasha made her heart ache. Gods how she missed that stupid hanyou…

"Well?" Yusuke asked; Kagome glanced at him.

"Well, what?" she asked; the detective scowled at her.

"What happened?" he asked, "That can't possibly be the end of it! There's more to it!"

Kagome laughed, "No…that's not the end of the story…" she said softly, debating how much she should tell these young men. She shrugged what the hell; worst they could do was call her crazy and not believe her….maybe lock her up? Sometimes she thought that would be preferable to the lonely existence.

"Dammit, woman," Yusuke growled, "Finish the story…"

Kagome narrowed her eyes at his tone; Yusuke gulped and muttered a soft, "Please?"

"Fifty years after Kikyo's death and Inuyasha's imprisonment;" Kagome said, returning to the story. She was amazed at how attentive the young men were; most couldn't care less about her shrines legends, "a young untrained priestess stumbled across him. The roots of the tree had grown up around him; cradling him in his slumber. New to the land; the young girl had no idea who he was. She had never seen someone like him before; dressed in the red robe of the fire rat, with silver hair and the cutest fuzzy dog ears. She knew nothing of demons, or any jewel. When the villagers found her; they believed her to be a demon. They tried to exorcise the demon from her…. Only to realize that she wasn't a demon, instead she was the reincarnation of the Priestess Kikyo. The resemblance was uncanny. That night; a centipede demon attacked searching for the long lost jewel. Realizing the villagers were in danger and that the demon was after her; the young girl ran into the forest. Eventually her flight lead her straight back to this tree…. And the now awake Inuyasha. In the course of the ensuing battle; Inuyasha made a deal with the priestess…. Release him and he would destroy the demon. The girl accepted the bargain; and freed the hanyou. Inuyasha destroyed the demon with ease; only to turn his claws on her, demanding the jewel that the demon had ripped from her body. Kikyo's sister, now an elder priestess created a charm… a necklace of subjugation and managed to place the charm around Inuyasha's neck and subdue him. Later when the jewel was accidently shattered; the priestess and hanyou became allies to find and restore the jewel. It took them four years; many allies, even more enemies and a final massive climatic battle with Naraku before the jewel was restored. Perhaps one day I'll tell you some more about their adventures; if you're still interested."

Kurama glanced at Hiei; "is it just me, or did that sound a bit too detailed for 'just a story;" he whispered.

"Hn," Hiei replied. Kagome had already moved past the tree walking to the back portion of the yard. Kwabara stopped and stared intently at the shed that sat right next to the tree.

"Kagome," he asked, "what's in there?"

"That?" she said, "That is the Bone Eaters Well. Legend says that the bodies of ancient demons use to be thrown into it and gave the well an ominous aura. It even says that once upon a time; the well was a portal through time."

"Really?" Kwabara said, Kagome laughed,

"Or so legend has it," she said, with a knowing smirk, "Though, both my brother and I have tried jumping into the well many times and all we got were sprained ankles for our troubles."

I hope you enjoyed it! Remember...REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH.

Call of the Dragon

Chapter 5:

The Spirit Detectives left shortly after Kagome's tour; yet surprisingly, that wasn't the last time she saw them. A few days later the blue haired grim reaper returned to tell her that Lord Koenma had decided to fix her roof where the black dragon had made such a lovely sky light. The overly bubbly reaper said to consider it payment for assisting the detectives. Kagome had to resist the urge to snort at the woman's words; Kagome didn't need payment for helping someone in need. On the other hand…. This 'Lord' Koenma had better repair her roof; Kagome didn't want to have to explain to her mother why they suddenly had a sky light where there never should have been one… and if she had… the little 'toddler' as Yusuke called him, would have had an extremely pissed off miko to contend with. She didn't have a clue where Spirit World was or how to get there… but if she had to deal with the consequences then so would he! She'd find a way to the Spirit World and kick his rump from here into the next millennia! Fortunately, before she was tempted to attempt to carry out her threat; ogres of every shade of blue and green arrived within the week and set about reconstructing the back corner of her house. It didn't take them very long before it was impossible to tell that a piece of the house had even been missing. Kagome was over joyed. That was one less problem she had to deal with.

Throughout the week, Yusuke and his team came to visit. Often times they would simply arrive without warning carrying movies and pizza. The detective never really said anything about why he had decided to start including her in their social gathering; after their talk around the breakfast table they had probably come to the conclusion that she was lonely and decided to take pity on her. Part of her wanted to growl and tell them to take their charity somewhere else. She didn't need their pity. The choices she had made may have made her lonely; but she had made them knowing full well the consequences of her actions. She could live with it; even if she didn't like it. Yet, despite wanting to turn them away; the fact remained that she **WAS** horribly lonely, and unlike her human friends… the Detectives knew of demons and the dangers inherit, and apparently could take care of themselves just fine. Besides; she did enjoy their company. There was something just so comforting and soothing about them; perhaps it was both the familiarity she felt around them and the newness of each.

As well as having her new, dare she say 'friends', come over several times a week; it seemed that she had developed a silent guardian at night. At first she had dismissed the presence of the fire apparition; figuring that he probably felt a certain sense of obligation to watch over her. By third night of feeling his presence in the branches of the Tree of Ages; Kagome had decided to go out and speak to the demon.

She had walked out and stood before the Tree and lovingly stroked its bark; allowing her mind to reminisce for a moment. How she wished that she could still speak to Inuyasha through the tree like she had done during the Menomaru incident. It would have been nice to get his take on her new 'friends'. Kagome lightly shook her head, casting away such thoughts; instead she turned her attention to the demon silently watching her from the branches above.

"Hello Hiei," she had greeted, unsure how to brooch the subject with the quiet, stoic demon. Of the entire group, she had spoken to him the least. Not for lack of trying, mind you; but it seemed that Hiei was simply not a social demon. He rarely spoke and when he did it generally was an insult of some kind or another aimed at either Yusuke or Kazuma. More and more he reminded her of the stoic Sesshomaru with a dash of the younger Inu-brother's brash attitude. How would she have broached such a subject to the demon lord? She smirked; bluntly that's how.

"I'm not sure why you are here," she said, "Since it seems like you have no intention of coming inside and being social… I can only assume you're here out of obligation…if that's the case….You don't owe me anything, you know…."

Hiei didn't say anything for a long while; so long in fact that Kagome was sure that he wasn't going to respond. She turned to go back inside when he finally spoke.

"Stupid onna,"

Only two words, but for some reason they made her lips twitch upwards into a smirk. She wasn't sure why that response made her want to grin; but by the time she reached the door, that was exactly what she was doing. Perhaps it was because that was such an Inuyasha response; and it was hard to envision the smaller demon with any similarities to her old flame? What sort of response was she really looking for? It wasn't as if she would get some denial, or claim of affection. Honestly what was she expecting?

She shook her head; Hiei, much like Sesshomaru and Inuyasha before him, marched to his own tune. He did things his way and had his own code that he lived by. She could respect that. Nothing else was ever said on the topic; but after that night Kagome always made sure that the back window was open, since the fire apparition seemed to have an aversion to doors, and that she set out a dinner plate for him and some tea before she went to bed. She had called out to him that first night to tell him she had left him food out; but she hadn't gotten or expected a response. Yet when she woke up the next more, the plate was empty and had been placed in the sink, along with the cup and pot of tea.

And so their routine went on; Hiei becoming a semi-permanent fixture within it. Three days before Christmas, Kazuma called; asking if she wanted to join Yukina and him to finish up their Christmas shopping. Having nothing better to do and still needed to do some shopping herself; Kagome agreed. She met them both at the train station about an hour later. She smiled at the couple as they got off the train; Yukina's small pale arm tucked neatly in Kazuma's elbow. The ginger haired human was grinning like a fool; adoration for the little korime shinning in his dark eyes.

"Good afternoon Kagome," Yukina said softly, smiling at the dark haired priestess. The two women hadn't seen each other since Yukina had healed Hiei. "It's good to see you again."

"Yes," Kagome agreed, giving the young woman a hug, "It's so nice to see you; much better circumstance then last time."

Pale pink eyes smiled at her, "Indeed."

Then it was Kazuma's turn; while Yukina's embrace had been timid… the youngest Kwabara's was anything but. Kazuma's arms wrapped around her in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet and making her squeak as the air left her lungs. Beside them Yukina giggled and touched his arm;

"Kazuma…I think Kagome might need to breathe…"

The larger boy blinked and looked at the purple-faced Kagome before blushing all the way down his neck;

"Heh, heh…Sorry," he said, putting her down and scratching his head in embarrassment. "Sometimes I get a little carried away… Sis is always getting on to be 'bout that."

Kagome sucked in as much air as she could and waved off Kazuma's apology.

"It's fine," she croaked, "Been hugged harder than that, so no harm no foul…"

Granted… it had been by Mistress Centipede and later by a serpent demon wanting to EAT her… but Kazuma didn't need to know that…

They headed toward the outlet mall; all too soon they were swept up in the mobs of people doing the exact same thing they were. It didn't matter to them though; apparently this was only Yukina's second time out shopping, the first time was only to a store around the corner from the temple she lived at and was nowhere near as crowded as the mall. Yet, after a small bit of apprehension being surrounded by so many people, a feeling that Kagome completely shared; both woman were swept up in the joy of that wonderful art form caled: shopping.

It was starting to get dark when they finally left the mall; all three lay down with packages, boxes and bags. After a small debate; they decided to find a nice little quiet diner and eat. The air, though warm for this time of year, had a slight chill to it as the sun set. Still, the evening was beautiful and the three friends were thoroughly enjoying their time together.

Suddenly Kazuma froze; Kagome and Yukina coming to a stop a few steps past him.

"Kazuma?" Yukina asked, curious why the human had stopped so suddenly.

"We're being followed," he said, clenching his jaw and setting down the packages in his arms.

"Damn…" Kagome swore, immediately sensing the demonic presence after Kazuma mentioned it. She had been enjoying herself so much; she had completely NOT been paying attention to her surroundings. What a rookie mistake; Inuyasha would have kittens. She set down her packages as well; followed by Yukina.

"Well, well," a snide voice said from the alley behind them, "Looks like we've been found out boys."

The demon stalked forward; horns jutting from his head and spiraling around like a rams. The others, a random assortment of horned, furred and hooved demons all grinned at them; their fangs glinting in the street lights.

Kazuma moved in front of the two women; instinctively trying to protect them. The demons weren't particularly high levels; probably how they managed to slip into the Human World undetected; but there were a lot of them. Still, Kazuma was strong enough that he should be able to take them all without a problem.

"We don't want any problems," Kagome said, her calm voice easily carrying across the empty street; "Go about your business and leave us in peace."

"You hear that boys," the ram-like demon laughed, "We've been dismissed."

The twelve demons behind him laughed and snorted; than their leader's lust filled eyes fell on Yukina, and he licked his lips.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," he stated, "Here we were, just minding our business; when were see this pretty little ice maiden invading our turf. Imagine our surprise. Not only is she a delectable little morsel; but it's well known fact that korime tears will fetch a small fortune in the Makai."

Yukina gasped, as Kagome instantly put herself between her friend and this new threat. In front of them, Kazuma glared at the demons.

"Over my dead body," he snarled; the demon glanced at his claws.

"Your proposal is acceptable," he said, and rushed forward; only to leap away when Kazuma's Spirit Sword nearly took his head from his shoulders.

The demon hissed, "Well, seems the human has bite. What a lovely amount of spirit energy you have there…."

"Come on you bastard, "Kazuma growled, "I'll take your head for threatening my Yukina."

As if some silent signal was given; the demons rushed forward, attacking Kazuma with fangs and claws. Kagome crouched down; making herself and Yukina into as small of targets as possible. Instinctively a shimmery pale blue orb encircled them; effectively keeping them out of harm's way while Kazuma fought. A few demons slipped by the human spirit detective and dove for the women; only to rebound off Kagome's barrier. They howled in pain as holy energy met demonic flesh. Kagome watched the fight intently; content to let Kazuma handle the throng; this was what he did after all. Still, she watched just in case she needed to assist.

Kazuma had whittled down the throng by half when he felt claws sink into his back; suddenly he could feel his energy disappear, stolen and consumed in a instant by the ram-like demons smirking at him over his own shoulder. He tried to jerk out of the demons grip but even as he moved; his spirit sword flickered and disappeared. Kazuma stumbled away, breathing heavily; but still on his feet. He tried to summon his weapon again; but couldn't even get a flicker of energy.

The ram demon stood where he had been; and licked the blood from his claws.

"What delicious spirit energy… and so abundant!" the demons eyes glowed, with the power he had just stolen. "Who knew that a mere human could harbor so much…."

"You bastard…" Kazuma spat; his limbs trembling with exhaustion. His eyes flicked over the remaining demons; he might be able to take on one or two…but without any spiritual power left…

Before Kazuma could react; the demon was across the few feet that separated them. He hit the human detective; claws ripping through skin and tissue, flinging Kazuma across the street to land, unmoving, a few feet from Kagome.

The priestess starred at the unmoving form of her friend and felt time slow. Behind her Yukina screamed Kazuma's name; pearl-like stones clattering to the sidewalk as she sobbed. Across town; Yukina's pain and fear echoed through their family bond; jerking Hiei out of his tree.

"Yukina!" he breathed; even as Yusuke and Genkai looked at him puzzled.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Yusuke asked, seeing a look of fear pass over the apparitions face. Without a word; Hiei leapt to his feet and disappeared. Yusuke swore; tearing off after him.

"Call Kurama!" Yusuke hollered over his shoulder, to his teacher, "Tell him to meet us!"

Kurama joined him a few blocks away; both having to cast off their human visage to keep up with their friend.

"What's going on?" Kurama asked, his silver hair billowing out behind him. Yusuke shook his head.

"I don't know," he said, keeping his focus locked on Hiei; "Something about Yukina…"

Yukina watched in horror as the demon approached Kazuma's body; she wanted to rush to his side… to somehow protect the human who so valiantly tried to protect her. The demon laughed;

"Still clinging to life I see;" he chuckled darkly, focused on the human in front of him. "We'll have to fix that little problem…"

Kagome stood frozen in shock for a moment; her mind struggling to comprehend such a sudden turn in the battle. She felt that slow, cold burn in the pit of her stomach; a feeling she hadn't experienced since she had been face to face with Naraku. Not simple anger… no… anger was hot and sudden… quick to come and just as quick to leave. This...this was colder, darker… this was a cold flame born from fury and rage… Rage so potent that it burns a hole straight through her soul and sat… never dying; needing only the barest brush to burst into flame.

She hated fighting, hated killing even more; yet her time in the past had forced her to fight and kill. Naraku had forced her to fight and kill. She didn't like to; tried everything in her power to avoid it, but she could…and would if pressed.

"Leave him alone," she snarled, capturing the demons attention and reminding him why he had approached this group to begin with.

"Or what?" he laughed, leaving Kazuma and stalking toward them. Kneeling behind her, Yukina whimpered in fear.

"Last chance," Kagome said, softly; crawling into the cold dark place she had created to fight Naraku; preparing to do what she hated. Her power was meant for healing and defense… the only time she could use it offensively was when it was channeled through a weapon or via her hands. She lacked a suitable weapon; and she refused to let that demon get close enough to touch. She didn't want to end up like poor Kazuma. Someone had to stand between this monster and sweet, gentle Yukina. Once again she would do what she must for someone she cared for.

Kagome let herself sink into the deep dark abyss that lurked in all human souls. The dark corner of their psyche that remembered a time when they lived in caves and predators hunted in the dark; that shadowy corner that would do anything and everything to survive.

"Leave."

Yukina glanced up at the suddenly frigid note in Kagome's voice and felt a chill slither down her spine. Something had changed. The woman defending her wasn't Kagome. Her normally warm brown eyes were cold and dead; her normally soothing comforting aura sizzled and sparked with rage.

"Pathetic little human..." the demon snarled. Yukina inched closer to Kagome's legs as the demons surrounded them. In the distance she could sense three very familiar energies rushing towards them... she prayed they would make it in time; though she had a sinking feeling they wouldn't.

"Don't you know your place on the food chain?" The demons closed in. A cold, almost cruel smile curled Kagome's lips; her eyes closed for a moment, her right hand held in front of her chest. A dark chuckle escaped Kagome's throat...

"Know my place?" She asked, her voice sweet as poisoned honey; "Know yours parasite!"

Kagome's eyes snapped open, the dark orbs backlit by a pale pink glow; as the demons attacked in mass. Yukina screamed even as Power crackled around Kagome's form; she spun in a circle, her hand crackled with blue, pink and purple energy. As she spun that energy gathered and trailed from her index and middle fingers of her raised right hand forming a glowing purplish energy whip; her subconscious emulating the most power demon she had ever encountered to date. The energy whip lashed out; the demons howled in pain as they disintegrated to ash... their screams echoing along the now dark abandoned street.

Hiei felt his sisters fear spike; he heard her scream as it bounced off the buildings. His heart thundered at the sudden strange spike of energy; followed by the screams of multiple demons caught in the throes of death... then….

Silence.

They landed on the street a few yards from the small group. Yukina was huddled on the ground; above her stood Kagome, calm and unruffled. Then a few feet away lay Kwabara...unmoving.

"Shiiiiit," Yusuke breathed, as the Mazoku took in the scene. Tension still filled the air. Yusuke and Kurama hurried over to Kwabara. Suddenly Kurama flung himself backward as energy rushed toward them. Yusuke, half a second slower than the kitsune, felt the cold crack of a whip across his face.

"Back off demons;" Kagome said; her voice cold and devoid of emotion, as that whip cracked in the air in front of their faces. This time Yusuke flung himself back.

"What the fuck Kagome!" He snarled.

"That's not our Kagome..." Kurama said, "Look at her eyes!"

A dull pink glow could be seen within the priestess's pupils.

"Yukina..." Kagome said, keeping her gaze locked on the three demons. "See to Kazuma..."

Immediately Yukina rushed over to the fallen human; instantly her hands began to glow a soft aqua color. While Kagome's attention seemed to be focused on Yusuke and Kurama; Hiei inched forward, wondering if he would be able to speed over to his sister before the priestess noticed. Dark glowing eyes snapped toward him. Hiei tensed; hand tightening on his katana. Suddenly the priestess blinked as if puzzled.

Kagome turned toward the demon trying to inch his way behind her; he, like the other two, was powerful; dark energy radiated from him, fiery, primal and vicious. Yet there was something about him... as if he was familiar. Kagome blinked as a memory surfaced...

_Please wake up...Hiei_...

"H-hiei?" She whispered softly. The fire demon jerked at his name was spoken. He watched as the predatory light seemed to drain from her eyes and the energy whip faded. "Is that...you?"

Hiei flinched as the dragon lurched against its bindings at the brittle sound of the girl's voice. Kagome blinked, confused.

What had happened?

Where...?

Suddenly she remembered...shopping... walking to dinner... the demons...

"Kazuma!" Kagome lurched around with horrified gasp. _Please let him be ok_... she prayed, _please._...

Kazuma lay on the ground in front of Yukina... her hands and eyes glowed a pale aqua...nearly white. Already the humans coloring looked better, his breathing less shallow, and the blood had trickled to a stop. Yukina looked up from her work and smiled;

"He'll be ok," she said softly, a brilliant smile lighting up her face. Kagome smiled;

"Thank goodness," she whispered. She sighed; she was exhausted. Black spots were dancing in front of her eyes. Suddenly everything started to spin. There were several startled shouts as the world tilted sideways; then…nothing but welcomed darkness.

I hope you enjoy. I apologize now for any typos. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night; so though I've run this chapter through spell check and proof read it twice... I'm sure there are still mistakes. I just hope in my sleep deprived state that the story still makes sense LOL.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH...

Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed! I love your comments and support! Here's the next and probably last chapter...

Call of the Dragon

Chapter 6

Hiei caught the priestess before she hit the ground; despite the fact that she was a couple inches taller than he was, she felt tiny in his arms. A brief glance confirmed that she wasn't physically injured; yet her breathing was shallow and her skin was cold to the touch. He looked down at her; concerned despite himself. He had no reason to care for this girl. He barely tolerated the members of his team; so there was no reason he should have…concern…. For this human girl. Yet… he found that he did not like the thought of her being sick or injured any more than he liked the idea of his sister sick or injured. Not bothering to stop and think about what his actions might mean; Hiei pulled of his cloak and proceeded to wrap it around Kagome's shoulders; raising him own body temperature in an attempt to warm hers as well. Kagome muttered in her sleep and curled into Hiei's chest, seeking out his warmth. Hiei picked up the girl and sent a glare toward the smirking Kitsune. The red-head wisely chose to keep his opinions about Hiei's odd caring moment to himself and went to help Yusuke pick up and carry their ginger-haired friend. Slinging one of the larger man's arms over both their shoulders; Yusuke and Kurama lifted Kwabara up enough to carry the taller man. Kurama reached into his pocket and drew out his communicator and flipped it open.

Moments later Boton's smiling face appeared in the small screen;

"Kurama!" she said grinning, "What a pleasant surprise!"

"We need a portal to Genkai's if you please Boton;" Kurama said, stopping the bubbly grim reaper before she could get into going in a conversation. "Kwabara, Kagome and Yukina were attacked. We need to get them to the temple."

"Oh my!" Boton exclaimed, "Be there in a jiffy!"

The communicator screen went dark and moments later; Boton appeared before them.

"What were they attacked by?!" she asked, seeing Kwabara covered in blood and dirt. She quickly created a portal to the Genkai's temple; they wasted no time walking through. Genkai met them at the front steps; sharp eyes taking in the situation.

"This way," Genkai said; leading them around to some spare rooms. Hiei set the priestess on the pallet Genkai had laid out. He moved to take his cloak from the girl so his sister could cover her with a blanket; yet his cloak wouldn't budge; Kagome's hand was fisted in the material. He tried to pull harder on it, prying it from the girl's clenched fist. A whimper of protest escaped the priestess's lips; so sad and pitiful sounding that Hiei found himself growling and releasing the fabric. He didn't really need the thing anyway; besides it would take weeks to get her scent off the thick fabric. He didn't have time to bother with it.

Once the two young people were resting comfortably; Genkai checked over them both. Sure they were not in immediate danger; she turned pale eyes on her former student and his friends

"Care to explain what happened, dimwit?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Yusuke shrugged, lifting his arms and folding his hands behind his head.

"Like I know, Grandma," he replied, "I got there once the party was already over. You should be asking Yukina."

All eyes turned to focus on the soft spoken korime; Yukina flushed unused to all the attention. Genkai's eyes softened slightly;

"Start at the beginning, dear, and tell us what happened." She said, trying to comfort the shy demoness. Yukina gave her a small smile and regarded her audience.

"We met Kagome in the afternoon at the train station; then went shopping. We spent nearly all day at the…'Mall'…" Yukina said, trying to remember the word Kagome had used for the place full of wonderful things. "When we left, we decided to get some dinner at something called a 'diner' that was down the road. That's when Kazuma noticed that we were being followed. Kagome too. There was an entire pack of demons; at least twelve or thirteen. They surrounded us. They…they wanted me…. They saw us walking and recognized me for what I was… they wanted my tears…. K-Kazuma told the leader that he would have me o-over his dead body…. The leader accepted his challenge. They all attacked him at once! Kazuma was so brave; defending me like that. B-but th-the one demon; the leader… he got behind Kazuma and hurt him. Drained all of his spirit energy…." By now there was a soft clinking sound as tear gems bounced across the floor. "There was so much blood…. And he just threw K-kazuma across the street. Th-then when he went to finish him… K-Kagome yelled at him… She had formed this barrier around us. The demons would attack us… b-but couldn't get to us. The demon left Kazuma and came toward us. Kagome just stood there; kept telling the demons to l-leave; that it was their last chance…."

"Stupid girl," Yusuke growled, "No demon is going to listen to THAT!"

Yukina looked directly at Yusuke; "They should have." She said softly, "Then they might actually be alive."

Everyone blinked at her words; typical Yukina, her gentle nature made her loath violence.

"Go on…" Genkai said, glaring at Yusuke. The Mazoku gulped and fell silent.

"Kagome changed then…" Yukina said softly, "Power started rolling off of her. It…didn't feel like hers. It was colder. She looked so… cruel." The ice maiden shuddered, "She scared me. She killed those demons without remorse."

Kurama, Yusuke and Hiei all exchanged looks. Kagome? Cruel? Despite the fact that they had seen Kagome in her 'altered' state; it was hard to wrap their minds around the concept. The woman they had seen was not the quiet, warm priestess they had become use to.

When it became apparent that Yukina was done speaking; Genkai ordered everyone out of the rooms. Hiei leapt up into one of the trees a few yards from the shrine; from there he would have a clear view of the room through the window. Kurama came and leaned against the tree truck; neither spoke for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts.

"What do you think?" Kurama finally asked; knowing the fire apparition was mulling over this new information same as he was.

"Hn..." Hiei replied; this new information didn't change his opinion of the girl in the slightest. She was still a human; weak, mortal and prone to trouble. The idea that she could have been hurt didn't sit well with him for some reason. His dragon shifted under its bindings; restless. Damn thing had been acting odd ever since they had met the stupid onna. He could almost sense…concern…from the Hell beast. Which was preposterous… the dragon of the darkness flame did not care about anyone; so there for it could not feel _concern _for anyone… especially an irritating, meddlesome, miko!

"From the little bit she's told us about herself; she's very much a self-sacrificing personality," Kurama said, "I don't know what happened in her past that made her lose those friends that she speaks of… but I get the feeling that it was for their own good. Then with her human friends here; she mentioned leaving them because of the possibility of demons hurting them. Same for her family. She's lonely; we all have noticed this," the fox said, talking out the puzzle, Hiei closed his eyes pretending nonchalance, but listening to every word the avatar said. "She tries to hide the loneliness; hoping no one notices. So she's lonely but she still pushes those she loves the most away. To 'protect' them…. Everything she does is either for the protection or happiness of her loved ones. So it only goes to reason that this latest 'transformation' was done to protect her friends… Yukina and Kwabara…. But if that's the case why did she not act sooner and prevent Kwabara from being hurt?"

"He's supposed to be able to protect himself," Hiei said, after a long moment of silence, "Think about it fox; if she pushes everyone away to protect them, why does she allow Yusuke and you to insist upon dragging her into your 'movie nights'?"

"We know about demons… are demons, with the exception of the ox," Hiei continued,

"We fight demons on a regular basis," Kurama added, catching on to Hiei's train of thought, "So it only makes sense that she would believe that we can protect ourselves."

"Exactly," Hiei agreed, "Yukina, on the other hand is to gentle. Anyone who had met her understands this within a few moments of being in her presence. So despite Yukina being a demoness, Kagome chose to protect her and didn't fight until there was no choice."

"Makes sense," Kurama said, "The transformation though… that's new. She didn't do that when you were attacked by the river, did she?"

Hiei thought back; he barely recalled his first brief meeting with the priestess when the water-demons attacked. "No…" he said finally, "She wasn't. That was a different circumstance though…"

Kurama glanced up at the shadowy figure of his friend; "how so?"

"It was defensive," he said, "she shielded me with a barrier. It wasn't an offensive attack like what we saw. Most of her energy is defensive… except for the arrow she shot at Yusuke's head." Hiei felt his lip curl in amusement at that thought; he would have loved to see the Detective's face when faced with that.

"Yukina said that the leader of the demons 'drained Kazuma's spirit energy';" Kurama said, lightly tapping his fingers on his arm, "So logically, Kagome wouldn't want this demon to get close enough to touch her….What if Kagome's only method of offensive fighting was through channeling her energy into a weapon, like the arrow?" Hiei glanced at him;

"There weren't any suitable weapons nearby…" Hiei said, his photogenic memory easily able to picture the empty street with great detail.

"So… desperate… she has to come up with a new technique on the fly…."

"Makes sense," Hiei said, "Doesn't really explain the drastic change in personality though. The oof, regularly seems to be able to come up with different techniques on the fly; but sadly his personality always remains the same."

"Perhaps the stress of having to do something she was so morally opposed to?" Kurama suggested. Hiei remained silent. Kagome wasn't 'morally opposed' to fighting and killing. She may not ENJOY doing either; but that was a matter of preference rather than true moral standing. She did what she had to in order to protect those she cared about and to survive.

So, what would a young human girl do in order to survive and protect her friends and family from demons intent on taking what she had? She wouldn't be the first person to turn cold when they fought; hiding behind a frigid mask of indifference to protect themselves. Kurama did something very similar…. As a human, he was very warm and social; but when he fought he became cold and calculating. Granted though; Hiei suspected that the warmth Kurama projected was a mask he had learned; while the cold, and calculating fighter was more his real personality. It matched the legends he had heard of Youko Kurama far better.

After a while Kurama realized he wasn't going to get anything further from the smaller demon; and left him with his thoughts. True night fell, and the occupants of the temple made their way inside as the temperature dropped. Soon the scents of Yukina's cooking filled the air; Hiei knew that soon everyone would be gathering in the kitchen eat. Hiei didn't bother moving; he wasn't overly interested in food at the moment. Nor did he care to be stuffed into Genkai's small kitchen just to get some.

A few hours later, near midnight, Kwabara woke and joined everyone in the main room. Though, the human's spirit energy was very low; Kwabara had proven on more than one occasion that he could function without it. Hiei had no desire to see the oaf cooing over his sister, or visa versa. What Yukina saw in the fool; he would never understand, but at least she was happy. Often times that one fact was all that kept Hiei from killing the annoying, loud-mouthed fool.

She was dreaming; one of the few times her dreams didn't turn into nightmares. She was in the past; Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippou and Kilala were all resting around the campfire. The night was clear, the moon and stars shinning bright, the scent of snow on the wind; it had been one of the rare moments when they had gotten a little peace. She had introduced her friends to the wonderful past time of roasting marshmallows that night. She could still picture Shippou waving his burning marshmallow frantically trying to put it out; only to have the sugary treat fly across the space separating him from Inuyasha and plop onto the hanyou's robes. It had taken forever to get the sticky melted sugar off. There had been much laughter that night; such good times. How she missed them.

She could feel herself waking; she tried to resist, burying herself in the memory. How long had it been since she had been that happy? Sure, Naraku was after them, sure the jewel had been broke… but she had been HAPPY in the feudal era. Despite being a girl out of time; she had felt a sense of belonging then that she had lacked since leaving. All too soon; reality inserted itself into her happy warm dream world. It beckoned to her to return; to leave her friends where they belonged… in her memories.

She woke slowly; taking stock of her surroundings. The scent of burnt wood and snow followed her from the dream world; lingering in her nose and leaving her with the sharp pang of loss. Tears pricked her eyes; she took a deep shuttering breath and forced them back. What was done, was done. She had made her choice back then; and now she had to live with it.

She took in her surroundings; she was lying on a simple straw pallet on the floor. She didn't recognize the room. She knew instantly she wasn't anywhere near her shrine. Where the hell was she? What happened? She thought back; she remembered going shopping with Kazuma and Yukina…. Then…what… what did they do? Her eyes widened and she sat up suddenly. They had been attacked by demons; she remembered now. She vividly recalled Kazuma lying in an ever growing pool of blood; Yukina huddled behind her legs, the scent of her fear sharp in Kagome's nose. Were they ok? She remembered taking out the demons… then three more had shown up…

Kagome scrambled to her feet; suddenly desperate to find her two new friends and make sure they were alright.

"Easy girl;" an elderly woman's harsh voice snapped from the door. Instinctively Kagome crouched low, calling power to her hands in case she needed to defend herself.

"Calm down, child," the woman said, "I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe here."

Kagome wanted to snort; like she hadn't heard that a million times in her pitifully short life span. However, she curbed the impulse and maintained her silence; sizing up the woman, in case she needed to go through her to escape. Kagome wanted to swear when she realized the woman was human and like Kazuma, had a ton of spiritual energy at her disposal. She held herself at ease though; deceptively so…. It would be her luck that this old woman would be a skilled martial artist. Still, knowing that the likely –hood of getting through the woman to the door was non-existent; Kagome refused to drop her guard.

"Where am I?" Kagome asked, proud that her voice didn't betray her anxiety and remained cool and aloof.

"My temple," the woman replied; "I'm known as Genkai."

"Nice to meet you," Kagome said, eyes flicking around the small room; "Where are my friends?"

"Kwabara and Yukina are both in the living room," Genkai replied, calmly, "Check for yourself. You should be able to sense them…."

Kagome had already beaten the woman to that suggestion. She allowed a small portion of her energy to flow through the temple; searching out and finding several familiar energies, including both Kazuma's and Yukina's. It wasn't until she brushed against the familiar dark energy of the fire apparition that she relaxed. If Hiei was lounging outside in a tree; then it was safe to assume this place was at least reasonably secure. Hiei didn't strike her as the type of being that would lounge around at ease if there was potential danger around. Even the little spit-fire enjoyed his peace and quiet.

Kagome stood slowly; allowing the energy she had called to recede back into her body. She regarded Genkai with dark cautious eyes; not trusting…. But willing to go on a little faith that the woman indeed didn't mean any harm.

Genkai regarded the girl silently as she came to her decision. It didn't escape her notice that the girl only calmed down once she had felt Hiei's energy outside. Interesting, that; how was it that a priestess with the power to kill demons; took comfort from being in the presence of a demon?

"Boton tells me that you are the guardian of the Shikon No Tama," Genkai said conversationally. The girl regarded her solemnly.

"Boton has a big mouth," she stated, dryly. Genkai laughed, that the reaper did.

"Yes, she does;" she said, "Girl couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it. Now what Boton doesn't realize and the dimwit is ignorant of… is that I actually know what the Shikon No Tama is and what it is capable of."

The girl regarded her silently at this statement. She had to give the girl credit; she didn't give anything away. Even her energy remained close to her body; nearly undetectable, giving away nothing of her emotions or intentions.

"Your point?" she said, when it became apparent that Genkai wouldn't get on with whatever point she was trying to make until she got a response.

"My point," Genkai said, "Is that a powerful relic like that does not simply 'disappear' as the legend says this one does. Too many demons and humans were looking for it to simply drop off the face of the earth like it did."

Kagome blinked, debating how to answer the old woman's question.

"What if I told you that the Shikon didn't disappear…" Kagome said, "Energy like that couldn't simply disappear anyway. But it could move…"

"To where…" Genkai asked frowning when the girl shook her head and smiled bitterly.

"Not where… when."

Genkai blinked at the girl's implication. Surely she wasn't implying that the shikon disappeared in time?

"Clarify." She demanded. Kagome shook her head.

"No," she said, "I'll explain only after I see Kazuma and Yukina."

Unable to object to such a request; Genkai led the young priestess to the main room where everyone was lounging playing videogames.

Kwabara was the first to notice Kagome's arrival.

"KAGOME!" the larger man bellowed; leaping from his seat and wrapping her in a bear hug. Kagome was amazed to see the ginger haired man alive. Tears glistened in her eyes as she returned his hug.

"I was so worried about you, you idiot," Kagome said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Kwabara smiled and blushed;

"Sorry," he said, "C'mon Kags, don't cry…I'm alright….see…" He moved his long trench coat out of the way to show her the healed flesh beneath. He flexed, his muscles; "I'm fine…. Yukina patched me all up. Good as new."

Kagome giggled at his goofy antics. Her eyes roamed over the room to settle on the teal haired korime. She walked over and knelt in front of the demoness.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly; seeing the wariness in the woman's eyes. Yukina studied Kagome for a moment; making sure it was her Kagome and not the cold impersonator. Satisfied that the woman in front of her was her friend; Yukina threw herself into the other woman's arms, overjoyed that she was alright.

"You scared me half to death," Yukina whispered, "Don't ever do that again!"

Kagome grinned as she held her friend; ignoring the chill seeping into her skin from touching the ice maiden.

"I'll try not to," she replied.

"Yea… speaking of that;" Yusuke said, "Care to explain what happened?"

She regarded the detective; there was a small cut along his cheek that had yet to heal. Both he and Kurama were regarding her as warily as Yukina had a moment before. She sighed, it appeared that she would have to explain what happened; unfortunately she couldn't explain that, without explaining her past. She hated talking about the past. Dredging up old painful memories that were better buried and forgotten; the pain and loss associated with that time was still too fresh in her mind for her to speak of it with any comfort.

"Do you remember the story I told you," she asked, regarding Yusuke solemnly, "when I gave you the tour of the shrine?'

Yusuke nodded, "Yea the old legends…."

"What if they weren't just legends?" Kagome asked, pinning the detective with her gaze, "What if it was all fact…not myth?"

No one spoke for several long moments; taking in what Kagome had just said.

"Bullshit," Yusuke said, laughing, Kwabara joining in his laughter, "Good one Kagome."

Kagome just continued to stare at Yusuke; slightly wounded though not surprised at his dismissal of her story.

"She's not kidding, you idiot," Hiei's voice cut through the laughter, "No wonder she didn't feel the need to speak of it before hand; when she knew the response she would get?"

Kagome turned grateful eyes on the smaller demon and gave him a brilliant smile. She hadn't realized that the fire apparition had entered the room; but she was grateful for his small measure of support.

"Ignore them Kagome," Kurama said, "Please continue."

Kagome thought about it for a moment; then shrugged. Like she had said before; worst thing they could do was lock her in a padded room.

"When I was fifteen, I went to help my brother get the cat from the well house;" Kagome said, "I was dragged backward, down the well by a resurrected demon known as Mistress Centipede. This demon wanted the Shikon No Tama and kept demanding that I give her this item. I managed to get away from her; my priestess powers manifesting out of the blue and severing the demons arm. When I stood up, I was at the bottom of the well… only there was no well house. Only wide open sky and vines climbing down the sides. I climbed up and there was no house…no shrine… no Tokyo. Just forest. I recognized the Tree of Ages and ran towards it because it was familiar. That's where I saw the half-demon Inuyasha pinned to the tree."

"The story of the priestess finding the demon…. That was you?" Yusuke said; Kagome nodded.

"As was the tragic tale of Kikyo and Inuyasha at the hands of Naraku;" she said, "That's what started it all. Fifty years before I climbed out of that well. Inuyasha and I eventually became allies and friends. The jewel was shattered. So we searched for it. We were joined by the monk Miroku, the fox kit Shippou, and the demon slayer Sango and her companion the Nekomata, Kilila. Each had their lives ruined by the spider hanyou- Naraku. Over the course of three years we fought side by side together and hunted for jewel shards; we were closer then friends… we were pack. When the final battle came about; we were joined by the Lord of the Wolf Tribe to the South –Kouga; and the Lord of the Western Lands, Inuyasha's older brother Sesshomaru; both had scores that needed to be settled with Naraku."

"This Naraku guy sounds tough," Yusuke said, "Would have loved to meet him."

Kagome regarded the arrogant mazoku and shook her head; "You'd have been dead then. Naraku was known for three things; being extremely clever and sneaky, running from battle, and absorbing any demon he could get his claws on. And you, Detective, would have been a very tasty treat. At the power level you're at now; you would not have been able to stop him. Sesshomaru almost lost his life to the bastard; but in the end, it was Sesshomaru's attack that gave us the edge we needed to kill him."

"I find it hard to believe that Lord Sesshomaru was almost killed by a hanyou." Hiei said, crossing his arms.

Everyone glanced at the fire apparition.

"You know this Sesshomaru?" Kwabara asked. Both Kurama and Hiei nodded.

"He controls the Western part of the Makai; separate from the others. No one is foolish enough to challenge the old dog for his lands. " Hiei stated.

"He's still alive then?" Kagome asked, Hiei gave a slight nod of his head.

Kagome smiled, "Good. I had hoped Shippou and he had survived the centuries. If he's still alive; then there's a good chance that Shippou is as well."

"Anyway," Kagome continued, "With Naraku dead, I was able to take his shards of the Shikon No Tama, and complete the cursed thing. The stone is said to grant a wish to whoever holds it. However, no good can ever come from the blasted thing. Forged from the souls of the powerful priestess Midoriko and the demon she was fighting; the jewel will increase the power of whoever possesses it. Once complete, I attempted to make a wish on the jewel; because of that wish I was no longer able to stay in the feudal era and was returned here, to my own time. And that is my story in a nut shell and extremely edited."

"What happened to the jewel?" Kurama said, Kagome regarded him silently.

"It returned from where it came," she replied. "The body of its guardian. Only this time, it wasn't dormant. It merged with the soul of the one who was chosen to protect the damn thing."

"You're saying it returned to you?" Yusuke said, "Bullshit! If this item was so damn powerful, how come we can't sense it huh? You're sitting right there and I can't sense a damn thing about you. Can ya'll?"

Kagome sighed and allowed her power to flare; the jewel pulsed sending a wave of energy through the temple; calling to anyone with darkness in their hearts. The siren song was ignored by the demons in the room; all powerful enough that they did not require such false power. However, there was one who responded to the jewels call.

Hiei hissed as the entity on his arm gave an answering pulse of power and the bindings burst into flame. Before anyone could move the dragon leapt forth; slamming head first into Kagome's chest.

The priestess disappeared within black flames as the back portion of Genkai's temple collapsed and the dragon roared through the trees. Hiei jagon flared to life as he wrestled with the hell dragon, trying to get the beast back under control. But, to no avail. The dragon was free until it ran its course and decided to return.

"Hiei do something!" Yusuke shouted, Hiei ignored the detective. Something wasn't right. Similar to how the dragon had responded to being denied its sacrifice during the battle with Bui during the Dark Tournament. Yet, unlike then when he could sense the creatures frustration; now he could only sense a fierce joy.

_MINE _it roared, not in consumption but rather…possession. Hiei focused on the dragon; there was something… there in near the creatures head.

"I'm talking to you shorty!" Yusuke bellowed, grabbing Hiei's arm and jerking him around to face him. Hiei casually threw the detective through another wall and returned to watching the dragon. The beast was calming now; never had he felt it so…content.

As the hell beast disappeared over the hill; Hiei leapt to follow it. Behind him Kurama, Kwabara, Yusuke, and Genkai rushed to follow. When they slide to a stop at the edge of the beach; they stared in awe.

Surrounded in blue light stood a completely unharmed Kagome; purple and pink sparks moved along the blue like tiny bolts of lightning. She sang softly under her breath; her hands gently caressing the massive black form of the Dragon.

Hiei stood a few feet away; rooted to the spot. He had followed the dragon; fully believing it had consumed the young priestess. Yet, it had set her down, as gentle as glass, wrapping its long serpentine body around her. Hiei could feel every caress she gave the beast; as if it was his body she was touching instead of the dragons. Despite the dragon not having a corporal form outside of being comprised of black flame; the dragon enjoyed the sensation of the miko's power trailing through its own flame. It gave a deep rumbling purr; butting its head against her chest like an eager puppy, rather than a feared beast from the deepest corners of the spirit world.

Kagome smiled at the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of her audience. She laughed; when the dragon had burst forth from its bindings, she had felt no fear. Just a sense of abandon. She had expected the creature to consume her; despite the dragons fondness for her on previous occasions. She almost hoped the creature would let her find peace in the afterlife. Surprisingly, she did find peace… but it wasn't in death; rather it was surrounded in the black flames of a dragon. Who knew?

Kagome turned to regard her audience; the dragon curling around her legs and hips, it's head level with her chest. Yusuke gulped; she looked like some sort of ancient goddess, her hair whipping around her face in the energy field created by the dragon. Once again, there was a pink glow deep within her pupils. Before, when they had seen that glow; they had believed she was somehow possessed. Now it was apparent that it was not possession; but rather the power of the Shikon no Tama.

"When the jewel bonded with me," Kagome said, "It merged with my soul. Only the purest of souls was supposed to be able to purify the jewel. In reality… the jewel needed balance. After being so long in the possession of one such as Naraku; the darkness within the jewel had over balanced the light. When it came to me; my own purity balanced out that darkness. But, now that we are one and the same; it is a constant balancing act. Because of the two opposing forces; it can sometimes seem like two very distinct personalities. The cheerful, warm Kagome everyone is use to; and then the cold, indifferent creature that will do anything to defend what is hers. I am bot light and warmth, as well as cold and dark."

She looked at Yusuke, "Still believe its bullshit?"

The detective shook his head; not foolish enough to open his mouth for a sarcastic remark when soft-ball sized souless flowing red eyes were glaring at him. The dragon growled; the priestess was his, and they would do well to remember that fact.

Kagome regarded the look of stunned disbelieve on Hiei's face; noticing her change of focus, the dragon too regarded the demon.

_MINE_, it told her; she smiled down at the beast. It seemed that it had claimed both her and the fire apparition.

"Return to your partner," she said softly, "You are draining his energy. Look how tired he is becoming."

Reluctantly the dragon, released the Shikon priestess; returning to its place on Hiei's arm. Kagome smiled at the demon; displaying the small dragon-like mark across the inside of her wrist.

"Looks like it claimed both of us…" she said, coming up beside the visibly exhausted demon.

"Hn," he replied, confused at the dragons actions; but, who was he to argue with it? Kagome draped Hiei's right arm over her shoulder, and wrapped her arm around his waist. He growled as Yusuke came over to take his other arm. The detective backed up; not wanting to provoke the apparition anymore the he had been. Hiei, use to not asking for help or accepting it, felt an odd sort of peace as he leaned on the priestess for support.

The dragon shifted on his arm; enjoying the feel of the miko's energy even in its tattooed form. They slowly made their way back to Genkai's; no one speaking as they walked. Once they reached the temple; they all stood in stunned silence at the wreckage.

The dragon had ripped the back portion of the building completely away.

"Damn that dragon is hard on buildings;" Kagome muttered, Hiei tired as he was, couldn't help but snicker at her observation. Yusuke, Kurama, Kwabara, and Genkai watched as snickers turned into chuckles, which turned into full blown laughter.

Yusuke grinned and shook his head glancing at the green-eyed man next to him who was smirking at the odd pair as well. Despite everything... Hiei had made a friend... with a demon slaying...time traveling human priestesses no less. They doubted Kagome realized it yet; but she had officially become part of their group; to have and to hold, through sickness and health, through demon blood and saving the end of the world from numerous idiotic take overs. Wonder what Koenma was going to say when he was told?

"This is really very heartfelt and chummy;" Genkai said, pale eyes glaring at her ex apprentice, "But get your ass in gear, dimwit! My house ain't gonna repair itself!"

"All hell, Grandma; I didn't even break it!"

"Move it!"

"Get Boton on the line! I'll be damned if I'm fixing this by myself!"

"Stop slacking off, dimwit!"

Kagome glanced at her demon companion; who just watched the two bickering back and forth with amused glint in his ruby-gaze.

"This is common, I take it?" Kagome asked. Hiei snorted;

"You have no idea…" he replied, sliding down to sit at the base of his tree, Kagome sat next to him, suddenly exhausted as well.

It was several long minutes before Kurama was able to get off the line with Boton and coincidently, Koenma as well. He had not taken the news well that Hiei's dragon had once again slipped his control and destroyed property. He left Koenma yelling and cursing both the fire apparition and his dragon. Despite the fuss he was making; Kurama knew that soon ogres would arrive to repair the damage done. It was simply easier to have the ogres come and do it instead of listing to Yusuke bitch about it for the next six months; or having to have Genkai say something about it. It wasn't like Koenma would say anything directly to the fire apparition; he wasn't that stupid. He had no illusions of the contempt Hiei felt for him and knew it would take very little provoking for the male korime to just decide to unleash the dragon and allow the beast to devour Koenma and all of Reiki.

Speaking of Hiei….

Kurama glanced up into the branches of the large tree the apparition normally took residence in; only to find him absent from it. The kitsune fully turned around intent on making sure his friend was hibernating comfortably. A smile curled his lips at the sight that met his eyes. Immediately he pulled out his cellphone; he would probably find himself at the business end of a katana… but that shot was worth the threat of beheading.

There sitting at the base of the tree; were Hiei and Kagome…. Sound asleep, leaning on each other. Hiei's head leaning on her shoulder and Kagome's head pillowed on Hiei's hair.

What a Kodak moment.

And he had caught it on camera. Quickly he pocketed the device and casually walked away. What Hiei never knew…. He couldn't threaten and possibly maim him over later….

Humming a happy tune; Kurama walked back over to listen to Genkai put the loud-mouthed ex-apprentice in his place…violently. Hopefully neither Yusuke nor Kwabara would notice the two sleeping figures. Genkai caught his gaze, which flicked momentarily behind him then back; she nodded and her eyes glittered with mirth. She would keep the two loud-mouths so busy they wouldn't have the time or energy to notice much less comment on Hiei and Kagome.

Kurama smirked in response. Time enough to deal with everything else later; for now, they had a few moments of peace.

Done! I think? Pretty sure. This was a 'friendship' peace rather then a true relationship one. I might have a few drabbles I add on later; I can't decide if I want to add those on to this fic not? but this fic is officially COMPLETE! Woohoo! I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you again for all of your support!

Don't forget REVIEW!


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